Lyons, NE – Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service announced its intent to terminate a national program to support the development of small farms, local food businesses, and regional food supply chains.
The announcement ends funding for the Heartland Regional Food Business Center which operates in a five state region. The Heartland Center is administered by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in cooperation with co-director New Growth and the Center’s Governance Council.
The Center for Rural Affairs (CFRA) is a Heartland Center key partner and CFRA staff member Kjersten Hyberger serves as secretary of the Governance Council. CFRA is one of 32 on-the-ground partner organizations that have assisted more than 2,500 food and farm enterprises so far through this program…