By Logan Kruse
Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) has announced approximately $1 million in round two funding under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). Through this agreement, USDA and Montana are working together to offer approximately $1 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain. MDA is accepting applications for this Infrastructure Grant funding through June 3rd, 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.
Using RFSI funding, the Montana Department of Agriculture will fund projects that support the uptake of technology to increase production and add product lines for agriculture products, invest in business capacity to place products in consumer markets, build cold storage capacity throughout the state, and expand food distribution lines in underserved areas of the state. The state’s investments through RFSI will aim to create a food systems infrastructure to support competitive and profitable market access for Montana farm products. The state’s priorities are informed by stakeholder engagement and outreach to underserved producers to better understand their needs.
“The quality of Montana’s agricultural products and the producers raising them are truly unmatched,” said Montana Department of Agriculture Director Christy Clark. “These grants support infrastructure to invest in capacity and the expansion of food distribution lines in underserved areas of the state that directly benefit Montana’s producers’ ability to innovate and grow their operations.”
Those interested in receiving a subaward should apply directly through the Montana Department of Agriculture by June 3rd, 2024. 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, the Montana Department of Agriculture 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.
Source : mt.gov