USDA’s Local and Regional Foods Division Launches Webinar Series
 On Thursday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. ET, the Local and Regional Foods Division will launch the Local and Regional Foods Resources & Research webinar series, a monthly webinar series highlighting local and regional foods research projects, resources, partnerships, and programs.
The first webinar in this series will provide an update on the Regional Food Business Center Program and will include representatives from different centers sharing about their region-specific initiatives and activities. This webinar will also share information on the centers’ impacts over the first year of the program and highlight how stakeholders can get involved with their local center.
Upcoming Webinars:
The webinars will be held on the third Thursday of each month from 1 to 2 p.m. ET.
List Your Business on the USDA Local Foods Directory
As fall arrives, people are getting excited for u-pick farms, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes. Make sure your agritourism venture is featured on the USDA Local Food Directories to join in on the fall fun! By featuring your listing on the platform, you can market your organization to a wider audience and reach consumers nationwide. To create a new listing, answer quick and easy questions about the status of your business so consumers can learn more about you.
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2024 Local Food Economics Data Visualization Winners Announced
On July 29, the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) and USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) hosted the 2nd Local Food Economics Data Visualization Challenge at the 2024 AAEA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. This event was an opportunity for graduate students studying agricultural economics to learn about local and regional food systems and the work being done at USDA. There were eight teams representing regions associated with the Regional Food Business Centers. The teams each created a static data visualization that identifies local food related challenges or areas of high need (limited resources) in their corresponding region that could guide the RFBCs in implementing their “Business Builder” grant program. The first-place winner of the challenge was from the Heartland Region (pictured). The second-place winners were from the Southeast Region and the third-place winners were from the Northeast region.
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September is National Organic Month!
 USDA AMS is proud to celebrate National Organic Month and support the organic industry through programs like the Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) program. The OMDG program supports the development of new and expanded organic markets to help increase the consumption of domestic organic agricultural commodities. Recently, AMS awarded $9.7 million for 13 grant projects through the OMDG. The projects funded through this program are anticipated to benefit over 119 million producers, buyers, and consumers. With this final award announcement, AMS has now awarded $85 million to 107 projects in 37 states and the District of Columbia through the OMDG program, supporting organic farmers and investing in the capacity of this growing sector.
Each month, we highlight the work of Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion grant recipients.
This Old Farm, located in Colfax, Indiana, started in 2001 as a small family farm and grew its operation to offer meat slaughter, processing, and aggregation services for local producers, helping them expand their markets through wholesale. During the COVID-19 pandemic, This Old Farm observed the impact on the meat industry, increased wait times for slaughter and processing facilities, and the importance of a diverse value chain. This Old Farm saw an opportunity to use their experience in wholesale operations to bridge supply chain gaps and help local producers by expanding their meat processing and aggregation facility to include direct-to-consumer retail markets. They applied for and received a Local Food Promotion Program grant (LFPP) for $498,114 in 2020 to open Old-World Style Butcher Shops to meet consumer demand and connect local producers through retail.
AMS Local and Regional Foods Division will soon post a researcher position on USAJobs. Successful candidates will have robust local and regional food systems research experience including authoring publications in academic journals. Duties of the position include developing research proposals and managing research teams focused on a variety of issues related to supporting local and regional supply chains.
The position will open in the next two weeks and will only be open for five days or until the application cap is reached. If you are interested and have the experience outlined above, make sure your resume and USAJobs profile are up to date, so you can easily and quickly apply.
Ongoing
USDA's Farm Service Agency is offering the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops Program (FSCSC) again. The FSCSC program provides financial assistance for specialty crop operations that incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses related to obtaining or renewing a food safety certification. FSA is accepting applications for calendar year 2024 through Jan. 31, 2025. The application period for calendar year 2025 will be Jan. 1, 2025 – Jan. 31, 2026.
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