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This press release is so vague that I have trouble understanding what it is they’re actually doing. > Using RFSI funding, the Tennessee Department of Agricultu

This press release is so vague that I have trouble understanding what it is they’re actually doing. > Using RFSI funding, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture will fund projects that increase access to commercial kitchens and co-packing facilities. Additional funded projects will expand processing capacity, including adding product types, increasing production volumes, and supporting new wholesale/retail product lines. The state’s priorities are informed by stakeholder engagement and outreach to underserved producers to better understand their needs. So is it adding facilities that producers (of crops?) can use to go from harvesting to a product that is ready to sell? Is it because small farmers don’t have relationship with processors? Or is it that big farms do it all on their own and there is no one for small farmers to turn to? Also what will a few million achieve when individual machines probably cost a lot more? I would think any facility would be enormously expensive to build and operate.

mooreds 2y ago
> So is it adding facilities that producers (of crops?) can use to go from harvesting to a product that is ready to sell? Is it because small farmers don’t have relationship with processors? Or is it that big farms do it all on their own and there is no one for small farmers to turn to? As someone who used to work in the space, there are a lot of different ways for farmers to turn what they grow into something they sell. It can be as simple as a space at a farmer's market and as complex as a co-packer that turns fruit into jelly or chiles into hotsauce. In the middle are commercial kitchens that let small food businesses safely make food to sell in stores and at markets. These are more expensive per unit to use than co-packers, but don't require the commitments that co-packers do. There are also processors like grain or meat processors that have been consolidating. Here's a list of local grain mills: https://wholegrainscouncil.org/find-whole-grains/local-grains https://wholegrainscouncil.org/find-whole-grains/local-grain... . I see zero in TN, so maybe there's a need there? There are also all kinds of tasks that need to happen that aren't related to food production/cooking, such as finding distributors, marketing, customer development and more. That's what "supporting new wholesale/retail product lines" means to me. > Also what will a few million achieve when individual machines probably cost a lot more? I would think any facility would be enormously expensive to build and operate. See my comment about costs here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41142419 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41142419
washadjeffmad 2y ago
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsi https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsi It's $5.5 for a grant program. "The projects funded through this program will create new opportunities for the region’s small and midsize producers to thrive, expand access to nutritious food options, and increase supply chain resiliency.” It sounds like they've identified challenges with small/medium producers being able to enter markets to compete with large producers (ie- family farms are disappearing), and it's the best way they can subsidize them without antagonizing Big Ag.

mooreds 2y ago

> So is it adding facilities that producers (of crops?) can use to go from harvesting to a product that is ready to sell? Is it because small farmers don’t have relationship with processors? Or is it that big farms do it all on their own and there is no one for small farmers to turn to? As someone who used to work in the space, there are a lot of different ways for farmers to turn what they grow into something they sell. It can be as simple as a space at a farmer's market and as complex as a co-packer that turns fruit into jelly or chiles into hotsauce. In the middle are commercial kitchens that let small food businesses safely make food to sell in stores and at markets. These are more expensive per unit to use than co-packers, but don't require the commitments that co-packers do. There are also processors like grain or meat processors that have been consolidating. Here's a list of local grain mills: https://wholegrainscouncil.org/find-whole-grains/local-grains https://wholegrainscouncil.org/find-whole-grains/local-grain... . I see zero in TN, so maybe there's a need there? There are also all kinds of tasks that need to happen that aren't related to food production/cooking, such as finding distributors, marketing, customer development and more. That's what "supporting new wholesale/retail product lines" means to me. > Also what will a few million achieve when individual machines probably cost a lot more? I would think any facility would be enormously expensive to build and operate. See my comment about costs here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41142419 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41142419

washadjeffmad 2y ago

https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsi https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsi It's $5.5 for a grant program. "The projects funded through this program will create new opportunities for the region’s small and midsize producers to thrive, expand access to nutritious food options, and increase supply chain resiliency.” It sounds like they've identified challenges with small/medium producers being able to enter markets to compete with large producers (ie- family farms are disappearing), and it's the best way they can subsidize them without antagonizing Big Ag.