USDA Partners with Puerto Rico to Award Over $3.5 Million to Strengthen Food Supply Chain Infrastructure

Apr 16, 2024

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced it has a cooperative agreement with Puerto Rico under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). Through this agreement, USDA and Puerto Rico are working together to offer over $3.5 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain. Puerto Rico is accepting applications for this Infrastructure Grant funding through June 30, 2024.

In May 2023, USDA announced the availability of up to $420 million through RFSI to strengthen local and regional food systems. Through this program, AMS has entered into cooperative agreements with state agencies, commissions, or departments responsible for agriculture, commercial food processing, seafood, or food system and distribution activities or commerce activities in states or U.S. territories. RFSI is authorized by the American Rescue Plan. Updates for each state’s Request for Applications for the RFSI program are available on the AMS website.

“This partnership between USDA and Puerto Rico is allowing critical funding to reach areas of the supply chain that need it most,” said USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The projects funded through this program will create new opportunities for the region’s small and midsize producers to thrive, expand access to nutritious food options, and increase supply chain resiliency.”

Using RFSI funding, the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture will bolster the island’s agricultural infrastructure with an emphasis on establishing advanced industrial processing facilities. The department will fund projects that expand processing capacity, support new wholesale products lines, increase packaging and labeling capacities, increase cold storage, and purchase specialized equipment and delivery vehicles. The island’s priorities are informed by stakeholder engagement and outreach to underserved producers to better understand their needs.

“Alongside the Federal Government, we are providing our farmers with the greatest tools and economic resources, which is crucial to ensure an effective agricultural operation. This helps us guarantee that we will have the largest quantity of local products. By investing in innovative projects through our programs, we offer them greater growth opportunities,” said Puerto Rico Agriculture Department Secretary, Ramón González Beiró.

Those interested in receiving a subaward should apply directly through the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture by June 30, 2024. AMS encourages applications that serve smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, veteran producers, and underserved communities.

Source : usda.gov

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.