This article was originally published in The Organic & Non-GMO Report
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently awarded an additional $9.7 million for 13 grant projects through the Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) program, bringing the total amount awarded through the program to $85 million. These projects will support the development of new and existing organic markets to increase the consumption of domestic organic agricultural products. The projects funded through this program are anticipated to benefit over 119 million producers, buyers, and consumers.
This round of awards includes projects for the market development and promotion, simplified equipment-only, and processing capacity expansion project types. The funded projects will increase the availability and demand for domestically produced organic agricultural products and address the need for additional market paths.
Recipients of this funding include:
- Tuscarora Grain Co. in Mohrsville, Pa., will use grant funding to purchase a pellet mill to increase organic livestock feed supply chain capacity.
- The Spicy Organics LLC, in Frisco, Texas, will purchase equipment to streamline and increase their processing capacity of organic spices, herbs, and grains.
- The Turning Green, in Sausalito, Calif., will leverage the massive purchasing scale of the school food sector to grow the organic supply chain by bringing together school food networks, small underserved organic farmers, and local agricultural support organizations.
This grant program is part of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative (OTI), launched in fall 2022, which offers a suite of programs and resources to help existing organic farmers and those transitioning to organic production and processing.