Grant programs meant to improve food security in Utah's rural communities and promote Utah farm products online have new funding to work with this year. Caroline Scheidell from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and artisan cheese producer Russ Kohler were guests on the Utah Farm Bureau's Cows, Plows, and Things That Grow podcast to talk about the impact of this grant program.

“Utah’s farmers and ranchers are essential to our economy, our food supply and our way of life,” Gov. Spencer Cox said. “This investment will help producers reach more markets, strengthen rural Utah and give more families access to fresh, locally produced food.”

Utah farmers and food businesses produce high-quality food, but gaps in processing, storage, distribution, and market access can make it difficult for locally produced food to reach Utah consumers—particularly in rural communities. The expanded UFSG will address those gaps by investing in the infrastructure and capacity needed to produce, process, store, transport, and sell more Utah-grown and Utah-raised food.

Also on the podcast, Jacob Webb from Utah State University Extension talks about its E-commerce Accelerator and Digital Marketing Intensive programs and how they help farmers and ranchers be able to improve selling online.