Farmers from all over the state gathered in the Sparkman Auditorium at the Mississippi Agriculture Museum for a listening session hosted by Commissioner Andy Gipson focused on a new federal program. The USDA-funded Resilient Food Systems and Infrastructure Program aims to strengthen middle-of-the-supply-chain infrastructure.
The consensus among the farmers was that the federal funds are essential and appreciated, but there is much more the state could do to help small farms.
Jamie Redmond is with Salad Days LLC, a produce farm that mainly sends out lettuce to restaurants and stores in the state. He says small farms face challenges when dealing with certain aspects of the business, such as grant writing and compliance.
“It's like it's a whole business within itself, when it shouldn't be to get government help from tax dollars that everybody has paid in. It’s so difficult that you have to go hire somebody to understand it and you still don't understand it after it's been written,” he said.
Gipson says he will be urging the state legislature to add funds to the federally funded program, which is capped at just over $6 million.
John Jones with the Mississippi Minority Farmers Alliance says there is more the state could do to prioritize its local farmers.
“I know what a small farm can do. I know the confidence and the independence that it provides,” he said. “But I don't see the state of Mississippi really doing much for agriculture… They wait for the federal funds to come in and use those. Yeah, Mississippi is an agriculture state, but I want Mississippi to do more.”
The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce will be taking comments online until August 1.
