--- description: A total of $30 million a year will go towards promotion for local food and farmer's markets title: USDA to Increase Funding For Local and Organic Farming image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79c1135b079e715e/6986a5e51eebf73cbc372e85/wheat-usda-farmers.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Diet & Nutrition](/tag/dietnutrition/) ## Diet & Nutrition Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Gov't to Put Up $52 Million to Help Farmers Market Their Produce by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 29, 2014 4:54 PM CUT  GAILLAC, FRANCE - JULY 11: Wheat grows in a farmer's field July 11, 2007 near Gaillac, France. Wheat is one the main crops in the region. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) GAILLAC, FRANCE - JULY 11: Wheat grows in a farmer's field July 11, 2007 near Gaillac, France. Wheat is one the main crops in the region. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)Sean Gallup—Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 29, 2014 4:54 PM CUT The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is to put [$52 million](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/business/usda-to-start-program-to-support-local-and-organic-farming.html "undefined") toward local and organic farming through farmers markets and organic research. Local farmers are having difficulty marketing their produce, even though there’s increasingly high consumer demand for it. [According to the New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/business/usda-to-start-program-to-support-local-and-organic-farming.html "undefined"), the funding is part of the Farm Bill signed by President Obama in February. The $52 million is being distributed to the industry through five grant programs that were authorized through the Farm Bill. The grants will be distributed annually. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the funding at the Virginia State Fair, where farmer and business owner M. James Faison of Milton’s Local Harvest won a grant to help farmers producing pork and beef products market their goods more effectively. According to the _Times_, the organic business sector will be getting $125 million over the next five years for research as well as $50 million for conservation. The USDA will also be allocating $30 million each year to marketing for local food and farmer’s markets. Another $70 million will go toward researching fruits and vegetables. [In an interview](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/business/usda-to-start-program-to-support-local-and-organic-farming.html "undefined"), Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said funding local food systems are good business for the government since they generate new employment. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3445218/farmer-marketing-local-organic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3445218/farmer-marketing-local-organic/"},"headline":"Gov't to Put Up $52 Million to Help Farmers Market Their Produce","datePublished":"2014-09-29T16:54:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:28:05.791Z","description":"A total of $30 million a year will go towards promotion for local food and farmer's markets","url":"https://time.com/3445218/farmer-marketing-local-organic/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Farming","USDA","farms","local","Organic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79c1135b079e715e/6986a5e51eebf73cbc372e85/wheat-usda-farmers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79c1135b079e715e/6986a5e51eebf73cbc372e85/wheat-usda-farmers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Wheat","caption":"Wheat","creditText":"Sean Gallup—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3445218/farmer-marketing-local-organic/","name":"Gov't to Put Up $52 Million to Help Farmers Market Their Produce"}}]}] ```