Missouri Farms Gain $1.58M Business Support

By Blake Jackson

Farmers and food entrepreneurs in Missouri and Kansas will receive expanded business support thanks to a $1.58 million grant from the Patterson Family Foundation to the rural development organization New Growth. With offices in Appleton City, Bolivar, and El Dorado Springs, Missouri, New Growth provides resources and programs to strengthen small farms, businesses, and communities.

The funding will allow New Growth to hire a farm business counselor and collaborate with three partners The Food Circle, The Kansas City Food Hub, and University of Missouri Extension to deliver business assistance and market access to rural food and farm enterprises in western Missouri and Kansas. Of the total grant, $1 million is earmarked for grants that help these enterprises expand their capacity to bring local food products to market.

The two-year grant also supports New Growth’s ongoing work with a larger, five-state team of business assistance partners following recent USDA cuts to the Heartland Regional Food Business Center.

Now operating as the Heartland Food Business Coalition, the group remains focused on building local food businesses, markets, and supply chains across Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and northwest Arkansas, with New Growth coordinating the effort.

“Business assistance tailored to the needs and opportunities of small farms supplying local food markets is an important focus for rural economic development,” said Katie Nixon, director of New Growth’s Food Systems Program.

“This grant is a critical and welcome investment in the potential for small farms in our region to be a big part of revitalizing their rural communities and building food supply resilience.”

Using the grant, New Growth and partners will offer business workshops, one-on-one coaching, technical assistance, market connections, expansion grants, logistical support to food hubs, coordination among hubs for regional distribution, and development of small farm financing and resources.

Photo Credit: istock-dusanpetkovic