As part of the inaugural meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, President Biden and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are announcing that USDA is making investments that will strengthen American food and agriculture supply chains, expand markets for agricultural producers and lower food costs.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is championing America’s farmers and ranchers by helping expand businesses and supporting more robust American supply chains,” Vilsack said. “Today’s investments in agricultural producers and rural entrepreneurs will create better economic opportunities that bolster food supply chains across the country and increase competition—a key pillar of Bidenomics. This will result in more affordable prices and choices for consumers, as well as more opportunities and revenue for farmers.”

This announcement was made as part of the inaugural meeting of the new White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, which is part of President Biden’s Bidenomics agenda to lower costs for American families and increase investment in America’s supply chains critical to economic and national security. This funding builds on prior investments made by USDA under President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to increase competition and lower costs by enhancing independent meat and poultry and other diversified food processing capacity and strengthening local and regional food systems.

USDA is making investments in 185 projects worth nearly $196 million to create new and better market opportunities for producers and entrepreneurs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Puerto Rico.

For example:

• Lot 279 LLC in Nebraska will use a Value-Added Producer Grant to process, market, distribute and advertise their direct-to-consumer beef cattle cuts and shares. The project is expected to increase revenue for the company by almost $600,000 a year and increase their customer base by 4,800 people. The Value Added Producer Grants Program helps farmers and ranchers venture into new markets by adding value to their bio-based products that will increase their revenue.
• The Center for EcoTechnology Inc. in Massachusetts will use a $24,355 Rural Business Development Grant to help small farmers decarbonize their farmwork through outreach, technical assistance, training and education across the Berkshire region. The grant will benefit almost 40,000 residents in 25 towns.

Source: USDA