USDA shows support for small farmers

The New York Times recently discussed how the USDA is moving to support small farmers and encourage eating locally -- the opposite of the mentality that supports large producers. The USDA is throwing a lot of money behind this. Money will support small farmers and help connect them with people who want to eat locally, focusing on a campaign called "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" that is backed by a $65 million budget. Special focus will also go to improving locally produced food options in food cafeterias, as well as grants to states to assist local business cooperatives (which are clearly one of the most successful mechanisms through which small farms can compete with larger producers by offering more variety, scale, etc. -- such as by pooling resources to provide 30 kinds of produce to a grocery store that would get its attention, or by pooling 50 small tomato farms together to get a Wal-Mart contract that otherwise would be impossible). The USDA's press release on this initiative has an interesting quote from the the initiative's chair, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan: "American people are more interested in food and agriculture than at any other time since most families left the farm. 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' seeks to focus that conversation on supporting local and regional food systems to strengthen American agriculture by promoting sustainable agricultural practices and spurring economic opportunity in rural communities." This is very good news.