West Virginia is among 16 states that will benefit from sharing $8.6 million in projects to educate limited-resource farmers in risk management techniques. The funds will be awarded in partnership agreement grants designed to provide producers with educational opportunities and information on ways to manage risks.
"USDA is committed to providing farmers and ranchers the assistance they need to more effectively manage their businesses and these training opportunities will give important insight on risk management tools for producers," says the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency Administrator Bill Murphy. "These projects often create opportunities for underserved, small, and limited-resource producers to become better risk managers."
In this circumstance risk management often signifies understanding direct marketing and the legal, financial and food safety tools and information needed for small farmers’ scale of operation.
Approximately $2.5 million of the total of available funds will be used for community outreach, $5 million will go for crop insurance education in the 16 targeted states and $1.1 million will be used in a commodity partnership program. The latter is related to teaching producers in local training sessions throughout the nation about crop insurance and other risk management tools.
Learn more about this education and/or grant process at the Risk Management Agency website at www.rma.usda.gov.