Public Affairs
Funding is currently available for projects in Nevada and Utah, additional requests for applications to follow.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Southwest Regional Food Business Center today announced the Center’s $4 million Business Builder award program to build the capacity of small and mid-sized farm and food businesses in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California. The Center is currently accepting applications from farm and food businesses in Nevada and Utah.
“The Regional Food Business Centers are a cornerstone of USDA’s food system transformation efforts, serving to help farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses access the resources and technical assistance they need to access new markets,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The Southwest Center’s Business Builder Subaward program will empower the region’s small and mid-sized farmers and food businesses to launch and expand their operations by establishing new revenue streams and gaining investors. This program is crucial to achieving the vision the Biden-Harris Administration and USDA have of a food system that fosters opportunities for regional food businesses and rural economies.”
"We are thrilled to distribute Business Builder awards across the Southwest in partnership with USDA, which will address the unique needs of farmers, ranchers, and food producers while strengthening local food systems with lasting impact," said Tracy Celio, Program Manager for the Southwest Regional Food Business Center.
In May 2023, USDA awarded $360 million to finalists to establish 12 Regional Food Business Centers, including a National Intertribal Food Business Center, to provide essential local and regional food systems coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building. These centers assist small and mid-sized producers and food and farm businesses in creating a more resilient, diverse, and competitive food system. The Southwest Regional Food Business Center, led by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, works to accelerate a resilient, diverse and competitive local and regional food system by improving opportunities for food and farm businesses across its four-state region.
The USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center has allocated $4.1 million for its Business Builder program and will distribute competitive and non-competitive awards. This funding is being distributed through annual or semi-annual state-level competitive programs and offers awards linked to technical assistance on an annual or rolling basis, depending on the state.
The Center will distribute non-competitive awards to farms and food businesses operating within California, Nevada, and Utah. These Technical Assistance-linked awards will provide individualized assistance to eligible farm and food businesses to enhance viability and competitiveness within their local and regional food systems. Technical Assistance-linked awards will be offered on an annual or rolling basis, depending on the state, with awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
Competitive awards of up to $100,000 will be open to farms and food businesses with gross annual sales less than $1 million. These awards will align with state-specific priorities, ranging from increasing production capacity for small and mid-sized producers to increasing the availability of infrastructure.
Across all pools of funding, the Southwest Regional Food Business Center will prioritize:
- Projects that benefit businesses located in a distressed or at-risk community, as defined by the EIG Distressed Communities Index or categorized as Socially Vulnerable, as defined by the USDA Social Vulnerability Index.
- Small farms and food businesses with gross annual sales less than $350,000, and mid-sized farms and food businesses with gross annual sales greater than $350,000 but less than $1 million.
Eligible entities include (but may not be limited to):
- Agricultural producers, growers, value-added producers
- Aggregator, distributor, processor, food hub
- Cooperative, non-profit organization
- Retailer, farmers market
Nevada and Utah Business Builder Request for Applications
The Southwest RFBC is now accepting applications for Business Builder awards in Nevada and Utah. The center has $720,000 available in grants for farmers and food businesses in Nevada and $680,000 available for those in Utah. The Request for Applications (RFA) is open through January 24, 2025, in Nevada and through February 15, 2025, in Utah. Additional pools of funding will be announced as they become available.
To apply or learn more about the center’s future Business Builder funding opportunities, visit the Southwest RFBC webpage. For additional information on the Regional Food Business Centers or to access the Centers’ websites, visit the USDA Regional Food Business Centers Program webpage.
AMS administers programs that create domestic and international marketing opportunities for U.S. producers of food, fiber, and specialty crops. AMS also provides the agriculture industry with valuable services to ensure the quality and availability of wholesome food for consumers across the country and globally. AMS services and its significant grant investments create opportunities by supporting American farmers, ranchers and businesses across the supply chain, and drive economic development in small towns and rural communities.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
Get the latest Agricultural Marketing Service news at www.ams.usda.gov/news.
#
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender