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Sam Rikkers, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administrator for the Rural Business-Cooperative Service was the featured luncheon speaker today at the ‘Local Foods for Local Tables’ 2nd annual conference at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha. The conference was hosted by Nebraska Congressman Brad Ashford with participation from USDA agencies. Nearly 175 people attended.
USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service Administrator Sam Rikkers will be the keynote luncheon speaker at the 2nd Annual Local Foods for Local Tables Conference. The conference is being hosted by Nebraska U.S. Congressman Brad Ashford on Aug. 19, 2016, in Omaha. The luncheon is being hosted by the USDA Nebraska Food and Agriculture Council.
Rikkers was appointed Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) Administrator in December 2015. As part of his portfolio, Rikkers leads the local foods effort for USDA’s Rural Development agency.
Outline Of Need:
The City of Frankenmuth is a small rural community located in Saginaw County. The City has a year round population of approximately 5,000 residents, many of which have German or Bavarian origins. Much of the outlying areas surrounding the City consist of agricultural producers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Business-Cooperative Service Administrator Sam Rikkers today announced a new resource to help food hubs improve their financial performance. A food hub is a business or organization that manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of locally-produced food. They play a key role in creating opportunities for small and midsize producers while also satisfying growing customer demand for local products.
USDA Rural Development State Director Colleen Landkamer today visited Redhead Creamery to celebrate local foods and highlight entrepreneurs expanding their operations and bringing new products to market with funding assistance through USDA’s Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program.
“These projects create expansion and job opportunities for local producers and small rural businesses,” Landkamer said. “Providing local entrepreneurs and agricultural producers with access to capital, technical assistance and new markets is essential to the continued growth of rural America.”
Sought by health enthusiasts for delivering nutritional benefits, antioxidants and fiber, pomegranates are established in the marketplace with products like Pom Wonderful® brand juices, arils and teas. But although pomegranates are common in back yards throughout South Georgia and research and development has proven success for California with the Wonderful variety of pomegranate, the Wonderful cultivar performs very poorly in Georgia.
Today U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development celebrated expanding market opportunities for local food producers during visits to several South Georgia businesses. Each business was a recent recipient of USDA’s Value Added Producer Grant which helps agricultural producers grow their businesses by turning raw commodities into value-added products, expanding marketing opportunities and developing new uses for existing products.
Farmers and tradesmen in Wilcox County will soon have a central place to sell their goods. USDA Rural Development State Director Quinton Robinson today announced a $35,001 USDA grant award to help the City of Abbeville build an open air farmers market. Funding comes from the Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) program, which promotes the development of small and emerging businesses in rural areas.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development State Director Quinton Robinson today announced funding for two South Georgia projects to bring local grown foods to market. Funding comes from the Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) program, which promotes the development of small and emerging businesses in rural areas.
Even though Claybrook Farms had a long standing reputation for its excellent Black Angus cattle breeding operation, the new owner wanted to broaden the farm’s horizon.
The Turner family purchased the 700 acre Claybrook Farms in 1975 growing it to over 1,000 acres and adding the production of corn, soybeans, wheat, and oats to support their cattle operation. When the reins passed from patriarch Carl Turner to his son, Dave, in 2012 a new vision was cast.
