[Virginia Pleasant]

Thanks for starting this conversation Sue!

[French Price]

Do you anticipate these “Centers” will be in one location or more of a regional network or programs and organizations? Depending on the size of the region and the scope of the projects, it will be difficult to have the Centers be both effective and inclusive in distributing the funding. Is this something you have discussed in your region?

[Virginia Pleasant]

Hi French, I’ve heard that they will most likely be affiliated with land grant universities, but I’m not sure if this is confirmed. I agree that there will be challenges if they are to be centrally located. Some thoughts that we have discussed here include: creating mobile options that move around the state or region to ensure that there is equitable access; intentionally thinking about access outside of normal business hours; cultivating collaboration among land grants in the region to leverage their respective strengths; and creating grassroots advisory committees to make sure these centers are serving the needs of those they are intended to. These thoughts are based on the assumption that they will be centrally located, but I think they are applicable regardless since the centers will be serving multi-state regions.

[French Price]

There have been several attempts at Agribusiness/Innovation Centers in VA and a lot of money put towards feasibility studies for physical locations. Few have had the right mix of partners to be successful. We have a good example that has been supported by Cooperative Extension at both land grant universities, but the region it serves is relatively small compared to some of the non-physical Centers that are typically associated with land-grant universities.

My position with VCE was initially funded by a USDA Local Food Promotion Program grant. We’ve been able to secure permanent funding for my position by leveraging SARE funding for Educational Support. Using the SARE Program as a model would be one way to have the USDA Enterprise Center funding cover more regions. However, there are restrictions on SARE funding that have made it difficult to provide the necessary staffing needed for Value Chain Coordination efforts in Virginia.

If the USDA Enterprise Centers could produce train the trainer and turnkey programs for Value Chain Coordination, that would help help local funding to go further and simultaneously build a network of Value Chain Coordinators and Food System practitioners.