Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program

The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources has entered a $3.267 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service under the Resilient Food System Infrastructure (RFSI) program. Program funding will unlock new market opportunities and facilitate important infrastructure projects for South Dakota agriculture. This is an exciting investment in food supply chain resilience and security, farm and food business market access, and value-added agriculture industry development. The RFSI program will support middle of the supply chain projects that improve capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products. DANR will award competitive infrastructure grants for middle of the supply chain activities such as processing capacity expansion, equipment and facilities modernization, worker safety, packaging and labeling, and storage space. Additionally, DANR will lead a supply chain coordination project with agriculture industry partners to support a cohesive technical and financial assistance effort that supports the coordinated delivery of RFSI benefits to the entire South Dakota food system through a holistic view of the regional and local food system needs. South Dakota agriculture industry partners and stakeholders are crucial to ensure RFSI delivers a significant impact for producers, businesses, consumers, and rural communities statewide. Stakeholders may include agricultural producers or processors, nonprofits, local and tribal governments, and institutions involved in middle of the supply chain activities. RFSI may fund projects related to specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry.