Small farms, food businesses in Nevada to lose $3M in USDA support

Caliente area farmer Rodney Mehring. (Photo courtesy Abraham Mehring)

Nevada will lose $3 million in federal funding after a program that supported local small and mid-sized food and farm businesses was terminated three years ahead of schedule. 

The Southwest Regional Food Business Center – which serves California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah – is one of 12 food business centers across the country that will cease most operations in September instead of July 2028 as originally planned, cutting off millions in funding for local food systems. 

In May 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded $5 million in funding to the University of Nevada, Reno Extension to support the local food economy over a 5-year period, including direct grants to farmers and food businesses.

However, last month the USDA announced the elimination of the $360 million Biden-era program, which was funded through the American Rescue Plan Act to bolster rural development and build stronger food-supply networks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the announcement, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins criticized the Biden administration for creating the food business centers “without any long-term way to finance them.” 

The USDA said they would honor more than 450 Business Builder Grants to farmers and food businesses that were already approved under the program, but any additional funds would be terminated.

The Southwest Regional Food Business Center was awarded $30 million to be split among the four states, including $4 million in Business Builder Grants that could be used to pay for cold storage, transportation, marketing, and other costs to expand local food businesses. Before the closure, the center was only able to award about $1.6 million in grant funding.

During its two years in operation, the Southwest Regional Food Business Center supported 170 small and mid-sized food and farm businesses in Nevada.

The vast majority of Nevada farms are family-owned, according to the USDA, making up about 93% of producers in the state. That can put Nevada’s agricultural sector at a disadvantage, as small farms often lack access to the federal subsidies and resources that support larger farms.

The Southwest Regional Food Business Center was created to help fill that funding gap.

The center – in partnership with the UNR Extension – set aside $900,000 in Business Builder Grants to help food businesses in Nevada expand capacity, but the center’s early closure means only about $350,000 will ultimately be distributed. 

Fallon Livestock Processing was one of 18 small and mid-sized farm and food businesses to receive a Business Builder Grant from the center before it shut down three years ahead of schedule.

Cattle farmers within the 400-mile radius of Fallon Livestock Processing have few processing options if they want to keep their business operations in state, said Cindy Johnson, who helps run the company along with her husband.

Producers in the area are often forced to haul their animals long distances due to the lack of slaughter facilities nearby, adding costs and logistical challenges that many cannot afford.

Johnson said the $30,000 grant the company was awarded this month would expand their cold storage capacity to serve 10 additional local meat producers, thereby strengthening the local agricultural economy.

“We’re feeding and keeping our communities healthy and viable. Cutting this kind of funding for Nevada farmers and ranchers three years ahead of schedule it’s really putting a strain on rural agricultural businesses like ours,” Johnson said. 

Programs like the Southwest Regional Food Business Center are vital for pushing back on corporate consolidation in the food industry that has hollowed out rural communities, Johnson said.

“It’s concerning that the center will be going away. It limits our access to additional resources to continue doing what we do. For small and mid-sized organizations such as ours there isn’t a lot of access to other USDA grants,” she said.

Fallon Livestock Processing was also able to expand their business into dried meats through a rebranding initiative, “expanding access to quality meats that are thoughtfully sourced and processed,” Johnson added.

Blue Lizard Farm in Lincoln County is another small family-owned producer that benefited from the center’s initiatives, including a $30,000 grant this month to expand the cooling capacity of a trailer for improved transportation. 

Rodney Mehring, the owner of Blue Lizard Farm, said programs like the Southwest Regional Food Business Center are an important step in building greater local resilience so Nevada can weather emergencies and economic disruptions like the ones experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I’m really sad to hear it going away. This is something that we, as an agricultural industry, have been working on for a long time,” Mehring said. 

“There’s huge demand for local produce, and we know that we can grow a lot of our own food, but the infrastructure is not there,” he continued. 

The centers were meant to coordinate regional food efforts, offer comprehensive technical support, and provide small financial grants to build the local food economy. And they’ve shown considerable success.

A report from the USDA in December found the centers led to the creation of more than 300 new food businesses. Biden’s USDA also reported that nationally 2,800 individuals had received technical assistance, 1,500 new partnerships were formed, and 287 businesses reported increased revenue as a result of the program.

Another big loss for small and mid-sized food and farm businesses in Nevada is the cancellation of planned consumer preference research after funding was terminated.

The research would have provided data on the buying habits and preferences of Nevada consumers to help local food businesses develop marketing strategies and expand their market. 

“This research will need to be postponed due to insufficient funding,” said Jessica Lozada, a communications manager for UNR.

The Extension said the center is “actively working to build private-sector partnerships within the four-state area of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.”