Market News provides real time price, volume, supply, and demand information for producers to use in making production and marketing decisions.
Market News will also soon begin collecting data about local food prices and volume, valuable to small and mid-sized producers engaged in that marketplace. Market News is now collecting price data on grass-fed beef to arm producers will real pricing information from the sector.
In the 2011-2012 school year alone, schools spent nearly $355 million on local and regional food purchases. Since 2013, USDA has invested nearly $10 million in Farm to School grants that support schools as they purchase from local and regional sources. One priority area for Farm to School is creating more opportunities for small and mid-sized livestock and poultry producers. USDA's Farm to School Program has put seven new Farm to School Coordinators on the ground in regional offices to help build direct relationships between small and mid-sized producers and school districts. More information is available through USDA's Risk Management Agency. And organic producers will benefit from the elimination of a previously-required five percent surcharge on crop insurance premiums.
Using new tools provided by the Farm Bill, USDA is working to reduce crop insurance costs for beginning farmers and ranchers. USDA is developing tools to help small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers make sound financial decisions as they plan for their future including a whole farm insurance policy that will better meet the needs of highly-diversified producers, particularly small and mid-sized fruit and vegetable growers. Learn more about the Organic Certification Cost Share Program. However, USDA is ready to support those who are interested in the certification process. Not all small and mid-sized farmers are organic. Organic farming can integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Since their debut in 2013, USDA has issued more than 8,400 microloans, with seventy percent of these loans going to beginning farmers.Ĭost share support is also available for farmers pursuing organic certification. In November 2014, the loan limit expands to $50,000. USDA launched the Microloan Program to allow beginning, small and mid-sized farmers to access up to $35,000 in loans using a simplified application process. FSFL can also be used to finance hay barns and grain bins.įunding for producers under the popular microloan program. Diversified and smaller fruit and vegetable producers, including CSAs, are now eligible for a waiver from the requirement that they carry crop insurance or NAP coverage when they apply for a FSFL loan. USDA has made changes to the Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) Program to help small and mid-sized fruit and vegetable producers access the program for cold storage and related equipment like wash and pack stations. This page provides small and midsize producers valuable resources and program information about access to capital, land management and conservation practices, managing risk, finding local markets, and other educational resources. Small and midsize producers provide new opportunities for American agriculture across the country.
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