ATHENS, Ga, Oct. 26, 2009 - Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today continued her tour of colleges and universities with a stop at the University of Georgia to discuss USDA's new 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative. Merrigan's 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' College Tour has a goal of educating the next generation of farmers, ranchers and consumers, and letting them participate in the national conversation about how to develop local and regional food systems to support small and mid-sized farms and reinvigorate rural communities. Merrigan was joined by Terry Coleman, Georgia Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture, Scott Angle, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Science, in addition to the state directors of USDA's Farm Service and Rural Development agencies, faculty, students, and local farmers.

"Americans are more interested in food and agriculture than they have been in several generations and by better connecting consumers of food to their producers, people across the country will have a greater understanding of the challenges in agriculture today and the effort it takes to put food on their table," Merrigan said. "We can revitalize rural communities and spur economic opportunity by strengthening the link between local production and local consumption."

The 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative includes such major agricultural topics as supporting local farmers and community food groups; strengthening rural communities; enhancing direct marketing and farmers' promotion programs; promoting healthy eating; protecting natural resources; and helping schools connect with locally grown foods.

The 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative emphasizes the need for a fundamental and critical reconnection between producers and consumers. The effort builds on the 2008 Farm Bill, which provides for increases and flexibility for USDA programs in an effort to promote local foods. Consumer demand for locally grown food in the United States is expected to rise from an estimated $4 billion in 2002 to approximately $7 billion by 2012.

Since May, an inter-agency USDA 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' task force has been working to align existing USDA programs with the needs of local and regional food systems; conducting outreach activities so that the linkages are understood; helping communities build local food systems by providing new initiatives; and engaging the American public in conversation about local and regional agriculture.

Earlier this year, USDA launched a new website, www.usda.gov/knowyourfarmer, which features social media tools to help focus the public conversation about farming and food, while engaging American agriculture and linking producers to customers. The 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' website directs consumers and producers to new media resources, such as information on the USDA blog, Facebook discussions, Twitter and YouTube videos. The public can also send their stories, ideas or videos to the 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' team at knowyourfarmer@usda.gov

To date, Merrigan's 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' College Tour has included visits to Rutgers University and Iowa State University.

#

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272(voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).