USDA announces nearly $1 million to strengthen markets for U.S. ag
The U. S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today awarded nearly $1 million in grants through the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) to strengthen and explore new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products.
The FSMIP grant program, administered by AMS, includes $982,437 in matching grants to 12 projects in 10 states.
FSMIP provides matching funds to state departments of agriculture, state agricultural experiment stations, and other appropriate state agencies to assist in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products, and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the marketing system.
"Success in farming is not about just growing a crop, it's about growing a crop and knowing how to sell it," said AMS Administrator Elanor Starmer. "FSMIP grants leverage Federal and State resources to develop innovative marketing programs to increase sales, which strengthen local economies and improve the bottom line for everyone."
These USDA grants make a difference to diverse stakeholders across the nation.
For example, under a 2014 FSMIP grant, the Maryland Department of Agriculture and its partners at the University of Maryland and Maryland Farm Bureau developed a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Model Contract and Contracting Guide to help farmers better manage risk and improve communications with their customers. The project was in response to some Maryland consumers who encountered problems with their CSA, leaving them without the CSA shares they had expected. The success of the guide reduced the need for regulation of Maryland's CSA farms and has captured the interest of other state departments of agriculture.
USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative (KYF2) Initiative coordinates the Department's work to develop strong local and regional food systems - including FSMIP projects.
Over the course of the Obama Administration, USDA has invested close to $1 billion in 40,000 local food-related projects. Information on local and regional supply chain resources is available on the KYF2 website and the KYF2 Compass
can help users locate USDA investments in their community.
More information on how USDA investments are connecting producers with consumers, expanding rural economic opportunities, and increasing access to healthy food is available in Chapter IV of USDA Results on Medium.
For additional grant information on the awards, visit:
