The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a significant initiative to support underserved, small-scale, and organic farmers in enhancing their farm risk management practices while promoting climate-smart agriculture. This initiative will provide approximately $6.5 million in funding to 22 organizations. The funding is made available through the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) and is part of its Risk Management Education (RME) partnerships. These partnerships are aimed at collaborating with organizations such as nonprofits and land grant universities to create educational resources and training programs for producers, focusing on risk management strategies.
“This funding and these partnerships are integral to our outreach efforts in communities that historically have not had access to training about risk management options. Our Risk Management Education partnerships are part of USDA’s broader efforts to ensure equity and access to programs,” said RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger. “As a farmer, I know first-hand that agriculture is a risky business. We need to work with growers, and livestock producers to provide them training and resources about risk management options and how to apply them to their farming businesses.”
Some of the recipients include Farmer Campus, which will continue developing courses, resources, and a network to help with wildfire risk management in California. Farmer Campus was a previous awardee, working on on-farm climate and wildfire resilience in the West. Napa Valley Grapegrowers has also received funding to provide climate risk management education in English and Spanish to Napa winegrape producers. National Crop Insurance Services will be using the funding to educate participants about the features of Whole Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm insurance options. The project also provides risk management and marketing plans for limited resource and underserved producers.
This latest investment of nearly $6.5 million supplements the $6.5 million that RMA has already committed to similar partnerships since 2021. In January 2023, RMA issued a call for available funding, and this year’s recipients encompass a diverse range of organizations, including nonprofits, historically black colleges and universities, and university extensions.
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West