September 19, 2023

Nevada Department of Agriculture Seeks Farm2Food Accelerator Participants; program connects women farmers and entrepreneurs | Carson City Nevada News

Event date:

September 20, 2022 – 12:00 p.m.

The Nevada Department of Agriculture, along with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation, is seeking participants for the Women’s Farm2Food Accelerator program, beginning in November of this year.

An information session will take place virtually ahead of the program on September 20, 2022, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

This is the second year this workforce development program has been offered to Nevada residents, following the successful pilot program earlier this year and positive feedback from the first nine participants.

The program is designed to help Nevada women farmers and entrepreneurs with value-added food or beverage products, or product ideas, grow their business and expand into new markets.

A value-added product is one that has changed physical state or form, such as the grinding of wheat into flour or the processing of strawberries into jam. Women who grow specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, honey, nuts, dried fruits, culinary herbs and spices, or who source specialty crop ingredients in the products they make are encouraged to apply.

“This is a great opportunity for women farmers in Nevada to receive entrepreneurial training and tools,” said NDA Director Jennifer Ott. “This program helps women-owned small businesses grow their businesses and increase their success in the marketplace.”

Selected participants will participate in a 15-week online program and two in-person events free of charge with funds made available through the Nevada Specialty Crop Block Grant program. The program will provide women with the opportunity to:

— Acquire knowledge and tools related to food safety, product development, marketing and other industry resources

— Connect with a community of women farmers, entrepreneurs and food experts

— Launch a new food or drink product or improve an existing product for the market

Who is eligible for the 2022-2023 Nevada program?
If you answer “it’s me!” to any of the following proposals, we encourage you to apply! Are you a farmer with a value-added food or beverage or product idea? Are you a food or beverage entrepreneur whose processed product or product idea is made with ingredients from Nevada?

Selected women will join the course at no cost to the participant using federal funds to help support Nevada agriculture and the wider community. In return, participants agree to provide feedback to the NDA on the program.

Interested individuals can register for the information session and apply for the program at f2faccelerator.org/nv-program.

The deadline to apply for the program is October 7, 2022.