The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service yesterday announced its intent to terminate a national program to support the development of small farms, local food businesses and regional food supply chains.
The announcement allows for the five-state Heartland Regional Food Business Center to continue normal operations until Sept. 15, 2025, and prepare a plan for a significantly reduced staff to support 90 Round 1 Business Builder grant awards. USDA funding for Round 2 of the grant program will not proceed.
The Heartland Center is administered by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Rural Prosperity Nebraska initiative in cooperation with co-director New Growth and the Center’s Governance Council. The Governance Council will continue deliberations about maintaining the Heartland Center as a network of collaborating support organizations with or without alternative funding.
Rural Prosperity Nebraska is a Heartland Center support organization and member of the Governance Council. Through its Nebraska Regional Food Systems Initiative, Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension educators have worked with farmers, farmers markets and local grocery stores to make local foods more accessible and affordable for all Nebraskans.
Essential Farm Business Support
The Regional Food Business Centers (RFBC) program was part of a national security effort to strengthen the nation’s food supply.
The RFBC program provided seed funding for on-the-ground organizations to build stronger and ongoing support for local and regional farm and food businesses, including needed supply chain infrastructure, such as delivery logistics, food processing equipment, and financing. RFBCs worked to build food supply strength for everyday health and wellness and greater resilience through shocks, such as terror attacks and the kind of economic disruption the country experienced with empty grocery shelves during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Heartland Regional Food Business Center is one of 12 RFBCs across the country. It started in 2023 with USDA seed funding to serve local food and farm entrepreneurs in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and nine northwest Arkansas counties. Rural Prosperity Nebraska worked with 32 partners that made up the Heartland Center — partners that included universities, Extension programs and regional nonprofits.
“We’re saddened by the early conclusion of the Center and by the unmet opportunities of working with our regional food producers and business owners,” said Mary Emery, director of Rural Prosperity Nebraska. “However, there is still much to be done before the doors close, and we’re looking forward to helping these creative and collaborative business owners maximize the time and funds we have left.”
More than 2,500 Served
The Heartland Center’s 32 on-the-ground partner organizations have already assisted more than 2,500 food and farm enterprises across this region. Program termination will eliminate USDA funding for business development support staff working at partner organizations.
“It is devastating that USDA seed funding for this regional effort to build small food and farm businesses and supply chains will end two years earlier than expected,” said Katie Nixon with rural Missouri community development corporation New Growth. “Our 32 partner organizations are committed to the work. We will continue collaboration to the best of our ability and seek further investment in this important economic development effort.”
Hundreds Miss Out on Grant Opportunity
Nearly half of Heartland Center total funding ($25 million over four years) was dedicated to directly supporting business expansion projects among small food and farm businesses in the region through Business Builder Subaward grants.
The group of 90 Round 1 finalists is just one-fifth of the 479 applications the Heartland Center received with requests totaling more than $20 million. Round 1 will provide $3.7 million for finalists’ projects.
In Nebraska, 16 small business owners and farmers were selected to receive a combined total of nearly $700,000 to grow their operations, with projects ranging from expanded signage to educational classes to new machinery. They are as follows:
- Artemis Natural Healing, Omaha
- Busy Bees Garden, Culbertson
- City Sprouts, Omaha
- Clyde’s Sweet Treats & Souvenirs, Ogallala
- D&D Beef, Herman
- Food4Hope of Nebraska, Beatrice
- Free Day Popcorn, Byron
- Inspire Me Rosa, Omaha
- LivFarms, Exeter
- No More Empty Pots, Omaha
- Robinette Farms, Martell
- Saddle Creek Corridor Neighborhood Association, Omaha
- SONPOWER Industries, Ord
- Upstream Angus, Albion
- West End Farm, Plymouth
- Whispering Roots, Omaha
“This news comes with a mixed bag of emotions, but we’re excited to award these funds to these business owners,” said Emery. “One of our main goals is to not just support farmers and producers, but to improve the wellbeing of our communities — that means, yes, making fresh, healthy and local foods more accessible. It also means helping Nebraskans access the educational and economic resources that are available to help their communities thrive. These grants are one step toward that end.”
The Heartland Center had expected as many as 1,000 applicants for its planned Round 2 funding pool of $8.3 million.
