USDA News: New Food Business Center For Local Supply Chain

Discover the latest news from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) below:

USDA Has Introduced The Delta Regional Food Business Center in Jackson, Mississippi (2023/05/15)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched the Delta Regional Food Business Center in Jackson, Mississippi, to bolster the food supply chain infrastructure in the Delta region. As part of a more comprehensive initiative, the center will collaborate with local organizations, universities, and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Its primary objective is to extend regional food and farm businesses’ market reach while promoting local food systems’ resilience. Initially, the USDA allocated $400 million in funding to the initiative, and 12 organizations were chosen by May to lead efforts across the nation. The Delta Center, supported by the Mississippi Delta Council for Farm Worker Opportunities, Inc., plans to increase local food production to 2% of all food imported into the region, potentially boosting the regional income by over $100 million annually. The USDA aims to stimulate economic opportunities through these centers and foster a more diversified and resilient food system. In tandem, the USDA’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI) intends to transform the food system to benefit consumers, producers, and rural communities and recently received a $420 million investment.

$420M On Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (2023/05/04)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has inaugurated 12 Regional Food Business Centers designed to aid farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses in accessing new markets and leverage federal, state, and local resources. The centers aim to offer technical assistance, capacity building, and national coordination to help address challenges within the food and agriculture sector. Alongside this, the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI), backed by a $420 million budget, aims to support innovative projects focused on improving processing and distribution capacity in the food industry, thereby bolstering resilience across the supply chain and fortifying local and regional food systems. The Regional Food Business Centers and the RFSI form part of a broader initiative, launched in September 2022 with an initial funding of $400 million, aimed at promoting economic opportunities in rural and urban areas and creating a diversified, resilient food system. The organizations selected to run each center include diverse institutions that will cooperate with grassroots food and farm organizations to enhance food system resilience, focusing on historically underinvested communities.

USDA’s Latest $59 Million Investment In Climate-Smart Agriculture Initiatives (2023/04/07)

Via its Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has unveiled a $40 million investment in 31 new projects to bring together partners to create cutting-edge methods for climate-smart agriculture. Also, the USDA has created two new formal partnerships to advance the adoption of nutrient management and is spending $19 million on two nutrient management initiatives sponsored by the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). These programs are consistent with President Biden’s Investing in America plan, which aims to revive the economy from the middle out and from the bottom up while also sparking a Made in America innovation boom.

New Program To Build Drought Resilience (2023/02/14)

The USDA recently announced new investments and strategies to help farmers and ranchers in the West conserve water, address climate change, and build drought resilience. The Western Water and Working Lands Framework for Conservation Action is a comprehensive strategy under the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to address water and land management challenges across 17 Western States. This strategy is designed to combat six central water and land management challenges threatening the region’s water supply.

New Funds Bring USDA Climate-Smart Commodities At USD 3.1 Bn (2022/12/15)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Biden-Harris Administration has announced an additional $325 million investment for 71 projects as part of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative. The initiative, which received over 1,000 applications requesting over $20 billion in financing, aims to expand market opportunities for American producers of climate-smart goods. Key collaborators include the 1890 Land-grant University and Tuskegee University, a historically black college and university (HBCU). Furthermore, the InterTribal Buffalo Council intends to collaborate with 76 tribes to promote climate-smart practices concerning buffalo herds via the Tribal Buffalo Market Initiative. Other partners like Marbleseed will work with organic grain growers and those transitioning to organic methods. Additionally, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley plans to test agrivoltaic technology to measure greenhouse gas reduction for Hispanic farmers and ranchers. The combined initiatives are projected to result in new markets and income sources for farmers, ranchers, loggers, and communities, with the 141 chosen projects aiming to match about 50% of government investment with non-federal revenues.

Invests USD 14.2M in 52 Urban Agriculture & Innovative Production Efforts (2022/11/02)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is dedicating $14.2 million towards 52 grants to stimulate urban agriculture and innovative production. Funded partly by the American Rescue Plan Act, the investment aims to boost access to nutritious food, raise climate change awareness, create jobs, educate communities about farming, and promote green spaces in urban areas. Building upon $26.3 million in projects backed since 2020, these grants are part of the USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP). The initiative supports various activities via two types of grants: planning and implementation projects. These projects range from initiatives to improve food access and education to supporting new farmer start-ups and urban forestry. Some examples include Lorain’s Food Forward Initiative in Ohio, focusing on improving food access in economically distressed areas, and Tampa Family Health Centers’ project in Florida, offering nutritional education and gardening lessons. The 52 projects are spread across 27 states and are part of the USDA’s more considerable investment in urban agriculture.

USDA Grants $43 Million for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (2022/06/03)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $43.1 million in grants and cooperative agreements to support urban agriculture and bolster the food supply chain, making it fairer, more competitive, and more resilient. The investment includes $10.2 million to expand compost and food waste reduction efforts, $14.2 million for urban agriculture and innovative production projects, and $18.7 million for 75 grant proposals from the 2021 application cycle. Also, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is launching six new urban county committees to facilitate farm loans, disaster assistance, safety net, and conservation programs for urban producers. This initiative is part of the USDA’s Food System Transformation Framework, aiming to build a resilient food supply chain, create a fairer food system, improve access to nutritious food, and foster equity by generating wealth in small towns and underserved communities.

Photo by Pieter van de Sande on Unsplash