Half of American consumers say they will pay a premium for food produced in environmentally and socially responsible ways. We are helping farmers and ranchers build the cooperatives to reach those consumers.

Resources and Grants for Cooperatives
The Center for Rural Affairs has dedicated staff time and resources in working directly with farmers and ranchers to organize cooperatives and access high value markets. The following resources provide helpful information.

The Value Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG) is a competitive grants program administered by the Rural Business Cooperative Service at USDA to help producers move into value-added agricultural enterprises. Authorized in the 2002 farm bill, this program aims to provide assistance to farmers and ranchers in planning and capital investment for value adding enterprises.

The University of Nebraska Lincoln Food Processing Center website gives you information about federal grant programs available to farmers and ranchers. It also provides you with valuable templates for writing federal Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG).

The University of Missouri Agricultural Electronic Bulletin Board (AgEBB) website gives you links to valuable general information about grants, legal guides, how to start a cooperative, how to write bylaws and articles of incorporation, exempt vs. non-exempt cooperatives, new generation cooperatives, patronage and so forth.

The USDA Rural Development website gives you information about current programs available to individual producers, cooperatives and producer groups – including funding opportunities and grants.

The Nebraska Cooperative Development Center website gives you information about the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center. On their site, you will find information about steps in organizing and forming a producer cooperative.

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Our Work with Entrepreneurial Farmers and Ranchers
The Center for Rural Affairs has helped dozens of ag entrepreneurs and new cooperatives to organize in Nebraska, obtain grant funds for their development, and overcome the legal barriers to selling products. Products include natural and grassfed meat, ostrich byproducts, grapes, dairy products, plant-based soap, farm-raised trout, ecotourism, compost, meat processing facilities, and buffalo. Groups ranged from single farmers/ranchers to multi-state organizations. Our expertise resulted in shortened development time for organization startup, legal procedures and product development.

High value products offer a means for the small-to-moderate sized farm or ranch to remain economically viable despite low commodity prices. Such enterprises can also provide the income to support a second family or new generation on the farm. Farm-related enterprises can buffer risks of volatile crop prices or weather extremes. Many such businesses build on the resources and skills of the farm and family to make more complete use of people, land or facilities.

In addition, smaller producers have a competitive advantage with consumers over corporate farms. A nationwide Roper poll found that, by a 2:1 margin, consumers trust small farms more than large industrial farms to produce safe food responsibly. Joint marketing to reach consumers also offers the means to overcome obstacles of low volume, seasonality, shipping costs, and supply interruptions faced by individual family farms.

Many consumers are seeking a more wholesome product that reflects their values in the conventional markets where they shop. Farm-based businesses, farmer-owned cooperatives and other groups can help put it there and, in the process, build more profitable markets for environmentally and socially responsible family farmers and ranchers.

Alternative markets are critical to the future of family farming and ranching -- markets that support environmental stewardship, reward humane production, and relate the story of those who produced the product. To survive in the 21st century, family farmers and ranchers need access to new production systems and to information and skills that enable them to capture a larger share of the consumer food dollar.

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For more information on our work to create high-value markets, contact Wyatt Fraas, wyattf@cfra.org.

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