News Release

CLINTON ADMINISTRATION AWARDS NEARLY $2 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR RURAL AMERICA

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 1997--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced $1.9 million in grants to address some of the biggest challenges facing agriculture and rural communities in the 21st century including food safety research and improving water quality.

"These grants under the Fund for Rural America will inject critical funding into rural communities to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. agriculture and food industry, strengthen our natural resource management and boost rural economies to improve the quality of life in these regions," said Glickman.

The Fund for Rural America Cooperative Value-Added Program (CVAP) is providing $1.1 million in grants to help cooperatives develop plans to create value-added products from the agricultural commodities their members produce.

Another $852,000 from the research portion of the Fund for Rural America, will fund 35 planning grants for the development of proposals targeting but not limited to: animal waste and water quality management; competitiveness in the global marketplace; limited resource and minority farmers; rural wastewater issues and strengthening rural water management; earlier identification of and more effective action to address emerging crop and livestock pest and disease problems; and managing risk in the agricultural sector, the broader food system and rural communities.

Glickman said that 18 cooperatives in 16 states have been awarded CVAP funds to finance feasibility studies, business development plans, market analysis studies and product development plans for new cooperatives to produce value-added goods.

"For many of our nation's farmers, future success will hinge on their ability to move up the food ladder from being producers of raw commodities to processors of finished or further-refined products," Glickman said. "In this way, more of the money derived from farm goods winds up in the producers' pockets and is spent in rural communities."

"The ideas and partnerships that spring from the planning grants will only enhance USDA's efforts to supply practical solutions that rural Americans will be able to use and profit from in the next century," said Glickman.

USDA is awarding 35 planning grants, up to $25,000 for a maximum six month period, to consortiums consisting of land grant universities and other research entities.

One grant will help in the development of a center for decentralized rural wastewater treatment that would link 20-30 advanced on-site wastewater training centers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Another project will fund planning for a national center for manure and animal waste management to provide farmers with economically feasible and environmentally safe alternatives for handling and recycling animal waste.

Some of the funded projects focus on reducing manufactured inputs and improving the quality of our natural resources---soil, water and air. One consortium is focusing on planning a center to coordinate research and extension efforts in nutrient management and work with upper Mississippi basin communities as well as coastal communities to reduce oxygen depletion in the Gulf.

Glickman says there is no higher priority than protecting the land and the livelihoods of those who feed our nation and the world. To that end, part of the grant monies will be used to identify and encourage the use of biologically based pest management practices and the reduction of environmental pressure on the resource base through site-specific management.

Glickman emphasizes the research, education and extension focus on our future ability to produce a safe, nutritious and plentiful food supply. One consoritum earned a planning grant award for a center on pork technology and education that will use USDA's Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) methodology. Another grantee is to develop a model for a regional beef production system that will improve competitiveness and profitability while providing a supply of safe, wholesome, high quality beef to meet market needs.

The Fund for Rural America, provides $100 million annually for the next three years for research, education, and extension or rural development. Information on the Fund for Rural America is available from the Fund's Website.

Brief summaries of the projects follow.

Contact:
Laura Trivers(202) 720-4623
Maria Bynum(202) 720-5192.

State: Hawaii
Applicant Funded: Big Island Resource Conservation & Development Council
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: Value Added Beef Processing by Kona Specialty Meats

State: Iowa
Applicant Funded: Iowa State University
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: Program to Develop and Assist Value Added Agricultural Cooperatives

State: Iowa
Applicant Funded: Chariton Valley Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.
Amount: $44,700.00
Project Title: Feasibility Analysis and Cooperative Structure for Value-Added Switchgrass Products

State: Kansas
Applicant Funded: Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: Market Development for a Dry Bean Cooperative

State: Kansas
Applicant Funded: Kansas State University Agricultural Economics
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: Market Niche Identification and Education for Small Producer Marketing Cooperatives

State: Maine
Applicant Funded: Maine Department of Agriculture
Amount: $40,000.00
Project Title: Maine Specialty Potato Farmer's Cooperative, Cooperative Marketing of Value-added Maine Potatoes

State: Massachusetts
Applicant Funded: Mount Wachusett Community College
Amount: $33,900.00
Project Title: Mass Natural Resource Cooperative Membership and Market Enhancement Program

State: Michigan
Applicant Funded: Farmer's Educational Foundation
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: Michigan Farmers Union Soy Marketing and Processing Cooperative

State: Minnesota
Applicant Funded: Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: A Model for Value-Added Cooperative Development in Minnesota

State: New Mexico
Applicant Funded: Tseikiin Community Development Corporation
Amount: $20,000.00
Project Title: A Diversification Strategy for the Ramah Navajo Community Agriculture Enterprise

State: New York
Applicant Funded: Watershed Agricultural Council of the NYC
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: Formation of a Watershed Producer Group and a cooperative for marketing their products.

State: North Dakota
Applicant Funded: Traill County Economic Development Commission
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: Rural Dakota Value-Added Cooperative Development Project

State: South Dakota
Applicant Funded: South Dakota State University
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: New Value-Added Products to Improve the Profitability of Corn Dry-Mill Cooperatives

State: Texas
Applicant Funded: Farmers Educational Foundation
Amount: $54,400.00
Project Title: Texas Farmers Union Dairy and Cheese Cooperative

State: Vermont
Applicant Funded: Vermont Department of Agriculture
Amount: $42,000.00
Project Title: Vermont Fiber Co-op

State: Washington
Applicant Funded: Puget Sound Development Foundation
Amount: $40,000.00
Project Title: Lopez Value Added Food Processing Centers Cooperative Marketing Project

State: Wisconsin
Applicant Funded: Pri-Ru-Ta Resource Conservation & Development Council
Amount: $75,000.00
Project Title: Superior Shores Agricultural Cooperative Inc. fruit-dairy value added product development and marketing project

Total:
$1,100,000.00 .

October 27, 1997

• Tuskegee University, leading a consortium to develop a crop and livestock pest and disease center to address new and emerging pest and disease problems through earlier identification, monitoring, and integrated research, education, and extension response.
• The University of Kentucky, leading a consortium to develop and deliver market-based alternatives for managing risk in the agricultural sector, the broader food system, and rural communities.
• The University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and Iowa State University, each leading a consortium to identify, disseminate, and encourage adoption of biologically based pest management practices, site-specific natural resource management techniques, and regional nutrient-water quality management alternatives to address issues such as dead zones.
• Mississippi State University and the Southern Rural Development Center, leading a consortium including the National Association of Counties to address the devolution of Federal and state government responsibility to local rural communities.
• North Carolina State University, leading a consortium of universities and commodity, environmental, and rural development organizations to develop and disseminate economically viable and environmentally sustainable animal-waste management practices.
• Iowa State University, leading a consortium of universities, commodity groups, trade organizations, food safety groups, and government agencies to support development of a Center For Sanitary Barriers to U.S. Meat Exports.
• The University of Missouri, Texas A&M University, and the Blacklands Research Center, to support integrated farm and environmental policy making, program management, and operator education at the national, regional, and local farm level.
• North Carolina State University, leading a coalition of universities and natural resource management organizations to address rural wastewater issues and strengthen rural water management.
• The National Agricultural Library in partnership with Purdue University and Texas A&M University, to support an inter-disciplinary, regional "virtual university" to enhance the science and technology content, improve the availability, expand use of information systems in the agricultural sector, strengthen agriculture's contribution to the rural economy, and capitalize on non-agricultural opportunities for rural communities.
• A 6-member consortium led by the University of Wisconsin, to explore the potential and develop strategies for adapting cooperative enterprises to strengthen farm and ranch operations, other agribusinesses, and rural economic activities.
• The University of Missouri, Purdue University, and Oregon State University, to diversify U.S. cropping systems to increase market-orientation, strengthen economic viability, and improve natural resource management.
• Two grants, to Utah State University, and to the University of Nevada leading a team of universities, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management, and rural development organizations to identify and encourage improvements in western public land management, and to develop and encourage adoption of regionally-tailored sustainable agriculture and natural resource stewardship strategies for the Intermountain West.
• The USDA Forest Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service leading a consortium of universities and private organizations, to strengthen knowledge, use, and management of conservation buffers.
• Three grants to consortia of tribal colleges and universities, to strengthen the tribal college and extension system as a vehicle to promote general rural economic development.
• Two grants, to Purdue University leading a consortium of universities and commodity, food safety, and rural development organizations, to support a center on coordinated beef systems; and to Iowa State University leading a consortium of universities and commodity organization, to support a center on pork technology and education.
• The Virginia Polytechnic Institute leading a consortium of universities, producer organizations, and the National Fisheries Institute, to develop and distribute recirculating aquaculture technologies that address industry efficiency, profitability, and water quality issues.
• Four grants, to regional consortia of universities, agriculture and agribusiness organizations, and rural business groups led by Cornell University, Texas A&M University, and Ohio State University to identify and develop farming, ranching, horticulture, and agribusiness strategies that emphasize value-added growth for local rural economies.
• Two grants, to the University of Illinois and to Montana State University, each leading a consortium to capitalize on communications technology to create and deliver information, development strategies, and technical support services to promote rural economic and community development and provide business and industry incubation services.
• Four grants, to Louisiana State University leading a southeastern consortium, to the University of Minnesota leading a north central/northeastern consortium, to the University of Wisconsin as the lead for a forgst-products consortium, and to the Forest Trust to develop forestry-based production, processing, and foreign and domestic marketing strategies to strengthen the agricultural economy, provide alternatives to traditional crop and livestock operations, and promote broader rural development.
• Kentucky State University and Tennessee State University to develop, distribute, and encourage adoption of information, technologies, and management strategies to support farmers with small farms and limited resources as a vehicle for diversifying agriculture and encouraging rural development.
• A consortium of the University of Wisconsin and Tuskegee University, USDA agencies, and southeastern farm and rural organizations to strengthen minority land ownership and land recovery to encourage both rural economic development and agricultural development.
• Michigan State University leading a consortium of universities and research institutions to explore and enhance the role of migrant and minority workers involved in labor-intensive agriculture, agribusiness, and rural industries.