More than $8.6 million will be awarded to strengthen local, regional food systems

FRANKFORT, KY. (May 1, 2024) - Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell has named five individuals to serve on the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Program Review Panel.

“This panel will be responsible for finding the best suited applicants for expanding and strengthening our food systems to improve our overall agricultural output,” Commissioner Shell said. “This exciting grant opportunity for our producers throughout Kentucky will allow us as a state to find better and more reliant ways to protect our food systems. I’m excited for this panel to get to work and for our producers to benefit from this opportunity.”

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture was awarded $8.6 million to strengthen local and regional food systems through the RFSI Program. The money was part of an overall $420 million awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Program is aiming to build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, to provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, to support the development of value-added products for consumers, and to provide fair prices, fair wages, and new and safe job opportunities.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has received 138 applicants requesting more than $32 million for infrastructure projects and more than $7 million for equipment-only projects. The RFSI Program Review Panel will help determine the projects best suited for the interests of promoting agricultural efficiency and diversification between Kentucky farms and marketing channels.

The program review panel members are:
• Tyler Ferguson, Farmer and a State Director with the Kentucky Farm Bureau
• Mike Jackson, Founder of Kentucky Greens Co. and Market Manager for Farm + House Louisville
• Randy Marcum, Judge Executive, Russell County
• Dr. Tim Woods, Extension Professor, University of Kentucky
• Ashton Potter Wright, Executive Director, The Food Connection at the University of Kentucky

The review panel will begin scoring the applications soon. Recipients will be notified of awarded projects.

To find more information about the RFSI program, visit here: https://www.kyagr.com/marketing/rfsi.html.