USDA Invests Nearly $4.1 Million in Risk Management Education for Farmers, Including Underserved and Organic Producers

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WASHINGTON, August 8, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced it is awarding nearly $4.1 million to organizations and outreach efforts to educate underserved, small-scale, and organic producers on farm risk management and climate-smart farm practices. The funding from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) provides assistance through its Risk Management Education Partnerships for organizations, such as nonprofits and land grant universities, to develop training and resources for producers about risk management options.

“This funding and these partnerships are key to the success of our outreach and education efforts in communities that historically have not had access to training about risk management options. Our Risk Management Education Partnerships are part of USDA’s broader efforts to ensure equity and access to programs,” said RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger during a virtual event announcing the 2024 recipients. “We need to work with growers, and livestock producers to provide them with the training and resources about risk management options and how to apply them to their farming businesses, and these partnerships will help us do just that.”

This nearly $4.1 million investment builds on the $13 million that RMA has already provided in partnerships since 2021. RMA advertised available funding in January 2024 and reviewed 41 applications.

This year’s partnership projects will reach every state in the nation, including eight state-specific, four regional, and three national programs. Out of the 15 organizations receiving funding, six are new partners and nine are current or former partners, including non-profits and university extensions, among others. 

One of the 2024 awardees, Right Risk, LLC, a non-profit group dedicated to providing top notch risk management education will continue their outreach work. “The funding we’ve received through our Risk Management Education partnership will allow us to continue outreach to Alaskan producers,” said Jeff Tranel, Owner and Chief Financial Officer for Right Risk, LLC. “We use on-site trainings, recorded presentations, newsletters, one-on-one coaching, printed materials, and the Right Risk Alaska-specific website to educate producers in Alaska about risk management options.”

The 2024 awardee organizations and their projects include:

• Cross Over Community Development – Provides comprehensive educational sessions on production, marketing, financial, legal and human risks geared to small-scale immigrant farmers.
• Georgia Organics – Offers outreach and educational programing to organic and underserved farmers in Georgia about risk management options, business strategies and record keeping.
• Napa Valley Grapegrowers – Provides risk management education to 500 Napa wine grape producers on: climate smart agriculture, organic and specialty crop farming, Crop Insurance 101 and water conservation.
• Oregon Tilth – Increases awareness, understanding, and use of crop insurance and risk management tools by organic producers and those transitioning to organic production.
• Northeast Organic Farming Association – Supports Vermont farmers by increasing their knowledge of climate-smart agriculture, risk management tools and crop insurance.
• Right Risk, LLC – Develops multi-faceted approach to assist Alaskan producers understand and implement crop insurance and risk management strategies to improve their opportunities for success.
• Rural South Institute – Builds resilient farm operations through increased participation in crop insurance and adoption of value-added and climate-smart agricultural practices.
• University of Arkansas – Delivers workshops that support young Native American beginning farmers and ranchers by equipping them with culturally appropriate risk mitigation strategies focused on climate resilience and strengthening local Tribal food economies.
• University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture – Provides online and in-person Train-the-Trainer workshops, including all 1890 Land Grant Institutions on the fundamentals of federal crop insurance.   
• University of Connecticut – Delivers program designed to mitigate financial and production risks through on-farm tours, online classes and a crop insurance decision application tool for producers.
• University of Maine – Educates farmers about mitigating risks due to climate events, pest outbreaks, market changes and poor business skills through increased awareness and understanding of federal crop insurance programs.
• University of Nevada, Reno – Assists producers understanding of existing and emerging federal crop/livestock insurance programs in Nevada and throughout the West while focusing on local and regional food systems. 
• RMA Southeast Ambassador – designed to strengthen the agency’s outreach, engagement, and impact within the agricultural community by creating channels for two-way communication and feedback, ensuring programs meet the needs of underserved agricultural communities in 13 states in the Southeast region. 
• Tribal Ambassador – designed to strengthen the agency’s outreach, engagement, and impact to better meet the unique agricultural needs of farmers and ranchers within Tribal communities.
• Navigator Learning Platform – partnership with Custom Ag Solutions to strengthen technical assistance to underserved producers by training specialists tasked with providing outreach and technical assistance on key topics related to crop insurance.

More Information

Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting your RMA Regional Office.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov. 

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