Partners in Cooperative Development

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is made up of 29 agencies and offices with nearly 100,000 employees who serve the American people at 4,500 locations across the country and abroad. USDA has authority over food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues. Agencies not mentioned elsewhere on this website include the Foreign Agricultural Service, the Agricultural Research Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Economic Research Service, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Forest Service, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Risk Management Agency.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) administers programs that assist cooperatives and other agricultural producers with marketing foods to consumers across the country and internationally. AMS also purchases (https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food) food from agricultural producers for distribution through the USDA Food and Nutrition Service programs for schools, food banks and households as part of the nation’s food safety net. The Farmers Market Promotion Program increases the availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products by providing outreach, training, and technical assistance to domestic farmers markets, community-supported agriculture programs, and other direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities. Related programs include the Regional Food System Partnerships program and the Local Food Promotion Program. Additional AMS programs may support cooperatives and their members in the dairy, maple syrup, meat and poultry, and sheep husbandry industries. Cooperatives looking for support need to check each program to see whether the cooperative accesses the program or whether they need to access support from an intermediary applicant (state or local government, tribe, or nonprofit).

The Farm Service Agency offers a number of programs that may help cooperatives and their members including:

1. Farm loan programs
2. Conservation reserve programs that pay farmers to take their land out of production
3. Biomass Crop Assistance Program for forest owners that produce biomass
4. Dairy programs 
5. Farmers disaster assistance programs 
6. Commodity loans providing interim financing at harvest time to meet cash flow needs 
7. Facility loan programs that help producers build or upgrade farm storage and handling facilities 
8. Assistance to producers with commodities impacted by retaliatory tariffs 
9. Organic Certification Cost Share Program that provides cost share assistance to agricultural producers who are obtaining or renewing their certification under the National Organic Program 
10. Commodity price support programs

USDA Food and Nutrition Service administers a variety of programs that purchase food for low-income individuals from agricultural producers and works with states and territories that authorize groceries, farmers markets, and Community Supported Agriculture programs to accept food vouchers from low-income individuals. Cooperatives and cooperative members may become vendors through FNS programs.

Cooperatives that contract with Veterans Affairs can provide home health services to disabled veterans. 

The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development partnership agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across Appalachia. ARC provides loans and grants that cooperatives may be able to benefit from either directly or indirectly by accessing the funds through a governmental entity or nonprofit.

The Delta Regional Authority works to improve regional economic opportunity by helping to create jobs, build communities, and improve the lives of the 10 million people who reside in the 252 counties and parishes of the eight-state Delta region. Cooperatives may benefit indirectly from grants provided through the States’ Economic Development Assistance Program; applicants are governmental entities and nonprofits. Funds can be used for business and workforce development.

The Denali Commission is an independent federal agency designed to provide critical utilities, infrastructure, and economic support throughout Alaska. The Commission provides workforce and business grants to governmental and Tribal entities and nonprofits. Cooperatives much request funding from these intermediary organizations.

The Delta Regional Authority works to improve regional economic opportunity by helping to create jobs, build communities, and improve the lives of the 10 million people who reside in the 252 counties and parishes of the eight-state Delta region. Cooperatives may benefit indirectly from grants provided through the States’ Economic Development Assistance Program; applicants are governmental entities and nonprofits. Funds can be used for business and workforce development.

The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development partnership agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across Appalachia. ARC provides loans and grants that cooperatives may be able to benefit from either directly or indirectly by accessing the funds through a governmental entity or nonprofit.