US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday (29 September) announced the award of over US$52m in support of the growing US organic industry and local and regional food systems through five US Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant programmes.
'Consumers are increasingly demanding more local and organic options,' said Vilsack. 'Investing in local and regional food systems supports the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers, especially smaller operations, while strengthening economies in communities across the country. Today's announcements also improve access to fresh, healthy food for millions of Americans.'
Most of the grants announced yesterday were authorised through the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill), including the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) Farmers Market Promotion Program and Local Foods Promotion Program, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) and Community Food Projects (CFP) grant programme, the USDA said in a statement.
Through the Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), the USDA is awarding more than US$19m in grants to help producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards grow and market high-quality organic agricultural products.
OREI's priority concerns include biological, physical and social sciences. OREI-funded projects assist farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning by delivering practical research-based information and will improve the ability of growers to develop the Organic System Plan required for certification, the USDA said.
For fiscal year 2014, special emphasis was given to research, education and extension relating to management of diseases, insect pests and weeds in specific regions.
