SPARKS, Nev. -
November 04, 2021Governor Steve
Sisolak, the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) and the
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
(NASDA) Foundation is pleased to announce the selection of
10 Nevada women for the Farm2Food Accelerator
program, kicking off Nov. 3, 2021. This workforce development program
is designed to help women farmers and entrepreneurs with food or beverage
products, or product ideas, expand into new markets.
This is a new and exciting program for Nevada agriculture
and a way to provide women entrepreneurs with the tools and training they need
to take their businesses to the next level.
“The women selected come from all over the state, producing
a variety of specialty crops used to make products such as jams, dried culinary
herbs, mushroom jerky, hot sauce and wine,” said NDA Director Jennifer
Ott. “This program will support these women running small businesses to
grow their operations, develop new business strategies and increase their
chance of success.”
Selected participants will join women from Oregon and
Washington for a 15-week online program at no cost, thanks to funds made
available through the Nevada Specialty Crop Block Grant program. The program
will provide women with the opportunity to:
- Gain
knowledge and tools related to food safety, product development,
marketing and more
- Connect with a community of women
farmers, food entrepreneurs and food experts to exchange ideas and meet peers
in other states
- Launch a
new value-added food or beverage product or enhance an existing
product
“Workforce development opportunities are important for
every industry and sector, but especially for those that are underrepresented,
like women in farming,” said Governor Steve Sisolak. “We are excited see the
impact of this program on our food and beverage industries and hope
to bring a larger program like this to Nevada.”
The Farm2Food Accelerator program focuses
on supporting women farmers who grow specialty crops for a value-added food or
beverage product or those who source specialty crop ingredients in the products
they make. The USDA definition of specialty
crops includes fruits,
vegetables, honey, tree nuts, dried fruits, culinary herbs and spices, and a
value-added product is defined as a product that has changed in its physical
state or form, such as milling wheat for flour or making strawberries into jam.
Applicants accepted into 2022 program include:
- Cortney Bloomer, Rural
Health & Nutrition Initiative, Dayton, Nev.
- Stacy Fisk, Fisk Farm
Herbs, Fallon, Nev.
- Teri & Megan Harasha, Jazi’s Greens, Carson
City, Nev.
- Lyndsey
T. Langsdale, Reno Food Systems, Reno, Nev.
- Crystal Leon, The
Radish Hotel, Sparks, Nev.
- Leslie Lotspeich, Lotspeich Family
Farm, Deeth, Nev.
- Eva Sara Luna, Desert
Moon Farms, LLC, N. Las Vegas, Nev.
- Sara Thomas, NO BS
Farm, Fernley, Nev.
- Evelynn Thompson, Zoot
Poultry Company, Spring Creek, Nev.
- Betsy L. Whipple,
River Ranch Vineyard, Hiko, Nev.
Visit f2faccelerator.org/nv-program to learn more about the program or to watch for
information on future programs.
About the Nevada Department of Agriculture
The Nevada
Department of Agriculture (NDA) mission is to preserve, protect and
promote Nevada’s agriculture. The department has 150 dedicated employees
providing services in its five divisions, Administration, Animal Industry,
Consumer Equitability, Food and Nutrition, and Plant Industry. The department’s
$232 million budget facilitates regulatory and administrative work in
agriculture and food manufacturing industries, protecting public and
environmental health and worker safety, and providing food distribution and
oversight for the United States Department of Agriculture’s school and
community nutrition programs.
About the NASDA Foundation
NASDA Foundation is the only educational and research organization
that directly serves state departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four
U.S. territories. The Foundation focuses on education, outreach and research
that galvanize the agricultural industry. NASDA Foundation is a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization. The mission of the NASDA Foundation is to advance
agriculture to shape a changing world. We carry out this mission by working
with state departments of agriculture on regional and national programs that
1) Connects farmers
to new markets, 2) Inspires change
across the supply chain, and 3) Empowers diverse farmers & agricultural leaders to
reach their dreams.
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