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The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center is an electronic, national resource for producers interested in value-added agriculture. Browse commodities and products, investigate market and industry trends, study business creation and operation, read research results and locate value-added resources.
Featured Topics
Food Safety
+NEW+ Think Good Agricultural Practices Prior to Spring Planting, AgMRC Blog - Did you know tainted food causes 76 million cases of foodborne illness; 375,000 hospitalizations; and 5,000 deaths each year in the United States? Producers can do their part by observing good agricultural practices.
+New+ Food Safety - This newly developed AgMRC Webpage links to more than ten related topics ranging from "antibiotic use" to "country of origin labeling" to "traceability." Learn about the cost associated with keeping food safe, estimated at $152 billion per year.
Stakeholders' Discussion series, Produce Safety Project, Georgetown University - Interested stakeholders are invited to participate in public meetings with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Georgia and Maryland. FDA will be developing national farm-level food safety regulations for the growing, harvesting and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Foodborne Illness Cost Calculator, Economic Research Service, USDA - This calculator provides information on the assumptions behind foodborne illness cost estimates.
FDA, FSIS, CDC Public Workshop to Discuss Metrics for Progress in Food Safety, March 30, Washington, DC - The FDA, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are jointly hosting a public workshop for food safety experts and other stakeholders on how to measure progress in reducing foodborne illnesses.
Local/Regional Foods
+New+ Local/Regional Foods - The market for locally produced food is booming. Should you start your own local food business? View this AgMRC-developed guide to acquire the tools to make it successful.
Farm to School Initiative, AgMRC Blog - This USDA initiative is an effort to connect schools (K - 12) with regional or local farms in order to serve healthy meals using locally produced foods.
Community Supported Agriculture - Learn more about this method of marketing used by some fruit, vegetable and livestock producers.
Direct Markets - Have you ever considered selling your farm-grown products directly to grocery stores or restaurants?
Farmers' Markets - Since USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service began tracking them in 1994, the number of farmers’ markets in the United States has grown from 1,755 to 5,274 in 2009, up more than 13 percent from a year ago.
Popular Resources
+NEW+ AgMRC Renewable Energy Newsletter, March 2010
Implications of EPA's Renewable Fuels Standard II for Ethanol and Biodiesel - This article focuses on the recently released blending amounts and greenhouse gas emission levels of biofuels.
Agricultural Outlook Forum
The USDA held its 2010 Agricultural Outlook Forum on the theme of Sustainable Agriculture: The Key to Health & Prosperity last month. Webcasts of the major speakers are now available online (see below):
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen A. Merrigan
2010 Agricultural Economic Outlook, Chief Economist Joseph Glauber
Project Funding
Guide to Federal Programs for Sustainable Agriculture Available, AgMRC Blog - Need a grant or loan to get a jumpstart? Check out this guide to the wide array of federal resources available to U.S. agriculture and forestry enterprises.
High Tunnel Pilot Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) - Under a USDA-funded pilot study, farmers, gardeners and landowners in 38 states can receive financial assistance to install a high tunnel. To sign up or learn more about the program, contact your local NRCS office.
Value-Added Producer Grants, Rural Business and Cooperative Programs, USDA - The anticipated award date for the VAPGs is May 3, 2010. Since its introduction in 2001, USDA has awarded more than 1,200 VAPGs for planning and working capital grants.
