In late December, Congress passed the Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act of 2020. Within the spending package, several U.S. Department of Agriculture programs for rural areas have been funded. The Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program, which serves small rural businesses, received $6 million in grant and loan funds. The Local Agriculture Market Program, which includes two subprograms used across rural America to process and sell local foods, got $19.4 million in funding. Other programs included in the package were the Conservation Technical Assistance, which received $734.26 million for conservation in every county across the nation, and the Farming Opportunity Training and Outreach program, which received $5 million.
Rural Reporter