Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2024 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced it has a cooperative agreement with South Dakota under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). Through this agreement, USDA and South Dakota are working together to offer $2.9 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain. South Dakota is accepting applications for this Infrastructure Grant funding through March 10, 2024.
In May 2023, USDA announced the availability of up to $420 million through RFSI to strengthen local and regional food systems. Through this program, AMS has entered into cooperative agreements with state agencies, commissions, or departments responsible for agriculture, commercial food processing, seafood, or food system and distribution activities or commerce activities in states or U.S. territories. RFSI is authorized by the American Rescue Plan. Updates for each state’s Request for Applications for the RFSI program are available on the AMS website.
“This partnership between USDA and South Dakota is allowing critical funding to reach areas of the supply chain that need it most,” said USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The projects funded through this program will create new opportunities for the region’s small and midsize producers to thrive, expand access to nutritious food options, and increase supply chain resiliency.”
Using RFSI funding, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) will address food supply chain gaps by focusing in areas such as processing capacity to enable increased and value-added production, commercial kitchens, cold storage, aggregation and transportation points for market access, and equipment upgrades and modernization. The state’s priorities are informed by stakeholder engagement and outreach to underserved producers to better understand their needs.
“Agriculture is our number one industry in South Dakota and the RFSI is an exciting opportunity to bridge the gaps in our food system between our producers and businesses and their markets,” said DANR Secretary Hunter Roberts. “We look forward to seeing the RFSI investment benefit South Dakotans through projects that bring those products to consumers across the state.”
Those interested in receiving a subaward should apply directly through South Dakota DANR by March 10, 204. AMS encourages applications that serve smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, veteran producers, and underserved communities.
Through the program and in addition to the Infrastructure Grant funding, South Dakota DANR will support supply chain coordination and technical assistance to farmers and food businesses operating in processing, aggregation and distribution—all critical activities to support access to more and better markets for farmers.
For more information, visit the AMS Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure webpage.
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