USDA Announces $300 Million in Awards to Support Access to Land, Capital, and Markets for Beginning and Undeserved Framers
This month, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced more than $ 300 million in awards to 50 projects focused on increasing underserved farmers and ranchers’ access to land, markets, and capital. These projects were awarded under the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access (Increasing Land Access) Program (LCM). This program funds cooperative agreements or grants for projects that help move underserved producers from surviving to thriving. The awardees – which include many National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) members – proposed national, regional, and local projects that cover 40 states and territories including Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
Background
Land access is one of the biggest challenges for young and beginning farmers all across the country – whether small-scale dairy farmers in New England, livestock and grain …