News
FSA meets with urban ag
USDA is reaching out to urban farmers to learn how to better serve them.
USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Val Dolcini tells Brownfield the department is continuing a cultural transformation to streamline programs and serve the needs of all farmers, “We’ve been really good historically about serving the needs of traditional farms and ranches around the country and not so good at addressing folks that have been either historically underserved by the department or who might have rather new ways of doing business.”
He says part his visits with urban farmers from the Flint and Detroit regions is tied to 2018 Farm Bill planning, but it was also about reaching out to areas USDA could be serving more, “We have a lot of traditional corn and bean operations in some parts of the state and then a really thriving fruit and vegetable part of Michigan’s ag economy too. And, I learned today there’s a lot of work being done in the urban setting, so Michigan is a real microcosm of what I see when I travel around the nation.”
The Michigan Food and Farming Systems organization, whose members participated in the visit, has created a user-friendly guide to help navigate beginning farmers through resources that are available.
AUDIO: Interview with Val Dolcini
Thanks for joining us, Nicole!
It is great to see a prestigious ag news organization like Brownfield covering the challenges faced by historically under-served farmers in urban and local food systems and how USDA Farm Service Agency and its partner organizations are adapting to better serve them.