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Marketing and Trade

Packaged salmon

Programs

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service

Federal Purchase Programs (seafood is eligible) 
Each year, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Commodity Procurement Program (CPP) purchases approximately $2-5 billion in domestically produced and processed commodity food products, including fish and seafood. These wholesome, high-quality products are delivered nationwide to schools, food banks, and households as well as across the globe through humanitarian food aid programs. AMS purchases from a wide range of vendors, with about half of AMS contracts being awarded to small businesses. 

Fish and seafood purchased for USDA's nutrition assistance and humanitarian aid programs must meet high standards for quality and wholesomeness and be produced and processed according to detailed USDA specifications.
 

Export-Related Grant and Cost-Share Programs (seafood is eligible) 
The Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program is a competitive grant program that funds projects to explore new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products, including aquaculture products, and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the marketing system. 

Grants to eligible states and territories to increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food.
 

USDA AMS Livestock and Poultry Program 
This program empowers American farmers and businesses through services that add value and create demand for livestock, poultry, meat, fish, feedstuffs and related products, while ensuring buyers understand the quality of product they purchase. L&P also conducts economic analyses for fish and seafood products requested by industry organizations for USDA to purchase under the authority of Section 32 of the Act of 1935. 
 

USDA Process Verified Program 
This program is a verification service that offers applicants, such as those in the fishing and seafood industry, a unique way to market their products to customers using clearly defined, implemented, and transparent process points.  An applicant’s program may include one or more agricultural processes or portions of processes where self-described process points are (1) supported by a documented management system, and (2) independently verified by a qualified AMS auditor. Applicants with an approved USDA Process Verified Program may develop promotional materials associated with their process verified points, use the USDA PVP shield in accordance with Program requirements and market themselves as "USDA Process Verified". The USDA Process Verified Program does not relieve the company of meeting regulatory requirements. 
 

Farmers Market Promotion Program
This program funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand direct producer-to-consumer markets (e.g., farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, agritourism, online sales) to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products, including seafood. 
 

Local Food Promotion Program 
This program funds projects that develop, coordinate and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing, such as food hubs, distributors, and other local food aggregators, to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products, including seafood. 
 

Regional Food System Partnerships
This program supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems, which can include aquaculture or wild-caught seafood. The program focuses on strengthening the viability and resilience of regional food economies through collaboration and coordination. 
 

Micro-Grants for Food Security Program
This program assists agricultural agencies or departments in eligible states and territories to increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food in food insecure communities through small-scale gardening, herding, and livestock operations (which can include seafood) in food insecure communities in areas of the United States that have significant levels of food insecurity and import a significant quantity of foods. The agricultural agencies or departments competitively distribute the funds through subawards to eligible entities. 
 

Farm Service Agency Farm Loan Programs 

Seafood operations engaged in aquaculture activities may be eligible to participate in FSA Farm Loan Programs.  These loans are designed to help producers get the financing they need to start, expand, or maintain a family farm operation. To be eligible, an operation must produce an agricultural commodity for sale which means that while aquaculture operations are eligible for FSA farm loans, wild-capture operations are generally not eligible.  

FSA’s most common loan types include the following: 

  • Operating Loans are used for the purchase of essential items such as livestock, feed, seed, supplies, and equipment.  They can also cover annual farm operating costs and living expenses. 
  • Farm Ownership Loans are used to purchase real estate for the operation, to construct or improve buildings or facilities essential to the operation, or to promote water conservation activities.   
  • Emergency Loans help operations recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding, or other natural disasters.   

Many FSA loans are available as either Direct Loans, which are made directly to the operator by FSA, or as Guaranteed Loans which are made by a USDA-approved lender and backed by FSA.  FSA also has a portion of funds set aside each year for operations that are just starting out, called Beginning Farmers and Ranchers.  These operations may also benefit from FSA’s Microloan Program which consists of operating and ownership loans designed for smaller or specialty operations with eased application requirements and less paperwork.   

More details about FSA Farm Loans can be found online at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/resources/farm-loan-programs.  If you want to explore which type of FSA loan best meets the needs of your operation, the Loan Assistance Tool is also available online at https://lat.fpac.usda.gov. 

 

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Market Access Program
This program supports a range of consumer-focused promotion for small businesses and cooperatives and is widely used by organizations representing fruits, nuts, processed foods and intermediate bulk commodities.
 

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Foreign Market Development Program 
This program supports long-term market development with a focus on generic commodity promotion, rather than individual brand promotion. Preference is given to organizations that represent broad industry sectors with nationwide membership with an aim to deliver the greatest economic benefit for American agriculture.