Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
7/27/01
For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Mary Holz-Clause, Extension Value-added Agriculture Program,
(515) 294-0648, mclause@iastate.edu
Del Marks, Continuing Education and Communication Services,
(515) 294-9807, delmarks@iastate.edu
ISU Extension to Lead $5 Million Effort on Agricultural Marketing
AMES, Iowa - A $5 million multi-state grant to establish an Agricultural Marketing Resource Center will be administered by Iowa State University Extension, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced.
The center will bring together a dynamic collaboration of university research and outreach specialists focused on collecting and interpreting information and creating new research to support value-added agricultural activities, according to Mary Holz-Clause, ISU Extension Value-added Agriculture program leader.
An electronic hub at ISU will be directed by ISU Extension. Iowa will take the lead on e-commerce research in the areas of pork, corn processing and technology, soybean processing and technology, poultry, forestry and wood products and biomass materials. Additional areas will be researched by other participating universities. The Center for Ag and Rural Development (CARD) on the ISU campus will oversee the research for e-commerce.
"This state of the art resource center will facilitate the use of technology to provide research, technical assistance and delivery of agricultural products to markets throughout the world," said USDA Secretary Ann M. Veneman. "It's an important partnership that will provide additional resources for the development and marketing of value-added ventures."
The Center is a strategically aligned consortium of Iowa State University, Kansas State University, the University of California and Oklahoma State University.
The center's mission will be to provide agricultural producers and value-added processors with knowledge-based resources and other assistance to better compete and grow in the global marketplace. These resources will be made available on an unprecedented scale through the use of computer and telecommunications technologies by:
* Creating an electronic, web-based library with powerful search capabilities to disseminate information and resources for agricultural producers and processors interested in increasing farm income through adding value to and marketing their products;
* Establishing a web-based forum for producers and processors, encouraging the exchange of information and the development of strategic alliances and partnerships;
* Coordinating research and outreach support systems, including training and instructional materials for producers wishing to enter into value-added activities utilizing new telecommunications and computer technology.
The grant was authorized as part of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000. The Value--Added Agricultural Product Market Development Grants program was established to encourage independent producers of agricultural commodities, and products of agricultural commodities, to further refine such products to increase their value to the end user of the product.
ml: isufarm
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