WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee – announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $199,995 to The Ohio State University (OSU) through its Rural Cooperative Development Grant program. The OSU South Center in Piketon will use the funding to provide technical assistance for hops producers, Appalachia timber businesses, food cooperatives operating under regional food hubs, and small business partnering with the oil and natural gas industry. The funding will also support a seed grant program.
“Cooperatives bring communities together – members leverage their shared resources to provide essential goods and services,” Brown said. “These federal funds will allow The Ohio State University to help local cooperatives in southern Ohio develop successfully, create jobs, and strengthen the local economy.”
Brown is the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 40 years. In 2014, he was part of the Senate Farm Bill Conference Committee that successfully negotiated a five-year farm bill that had been stalled for more than three years. Brown supported a strong Rural Development title in the 2014 Farm Bill to encourage economic development in rural communities.
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