The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has awarded Utah State University Extension a grant of over $1 million to expand digital market opportunities for agricultural producers, according to a November 9 statement. The funding was provided under the Rural Health Transformation Program as part of the Utah Food Security Grant Program.
The investment aims to expand the existing USU Extension E-Commerce Accelerator and establish a new Digital Marketing Intensive business mentoring program for agricultural operations. This initiative will provide technical assistance to help rural agricultural producers establish e-commerce websites and offer digital marketing training to reach new consumers, grow businesses, and increase consumer access to healthy, locally-grown or produced food.
Participants in the E-Commerce Accelerator receive individualized technical assistance and support from business consultants tailored to their current e-commerce readiness and business goals. This assistance may include website development and improvement, online storefront setup, search engine optimization, online marketing, customer experience, and performance tracking. The program is intended to serve rural agricultural producers and food businesses seeking to reach customers beyond traditional in-person or local sales channels.
UDAF Commissioner Kelly Pehrson stated that the agency is investing in the infrastructure Utah producers need to grow, process, and distribute more locally-produced food. Pehrson noted that producers require digital skills and tools to market products and reach customers, and that the partnership with USU Extension will help bridge that gap by strengthening rural agricultural businesses.
Justen Smith, Vice President of USU Extension, said that the grant allows the E-Commerce Accelerator program to provide the resources agricultural producers need to find new markets and improve profitability. Smith emphasized that Utah agricultural producers must be profitable to remain in business and continue producing food for future generations.
Since partnering with UDAF on funding the program, the E-Commerce Accelerator program has already built an additional 3 websites for Utah businesses, with 8 more currently underway. This work has generated an additional estimated $303,565 through digital business expansion.
Interested local producers and businesses can sign up for the program waitlist or subscribe to the USU Extension newsletter for updates at https://extension.usu.edu/ecommerce/.
