U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the launch of a new private investment fund that can potentially move $100 million throughout small food and agricultural businesses across rural America.
The fund, Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund, is the fourth Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) that the USDA has helped to create since 2014 to help drive more economic growth in rural communities.
The fund will invest in companies with large growth potential across the food and agribusiness value chain and rural America, including those in the crop protection, agricultural production and processing, precision agriculture and information and data management sectors, the agency said.
This endeavor was created under USDA’s Rural Business Investment Program (RBIP). USDA is using RBIP funds to invest in companies, with an emphasis on smaller enterprises, that can create growth and jobs in rural areas.