The efficacy, resilience, and power of cooperative businesses are time-proven facts, yet their prevalence in new england economies remains relatively limited

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the Center for an Agricultural Economy $615,623.50 on September 30, 2025, under the Rural Cooperative Development Grants program (CFDA 10.771) to expand technical assistance to rural cooperatives across New England.

The Center will conduct outreach to food hubs and establish collaborative technical assistance programs serving rural cooperatives in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The project includes development of specialized technological tools to improve service delivery to existing cooperative clients and to foster creation of new cooperatives. The Center anticipates increasing the number of cooperative businesses served by at least 18 percent during the one-year performance period.

The recipient, a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Hardwick, Vermont, currently provides technical assistance, practical job training, and low-barrier capital access to food cooperatives throughout Vermont and western New Hampshire. Place of performance is Hardwick, Vermont. The award period runs through March 29, 2027.

Cooperatives have proven to foster innovation, retain economic impacts within local communities, and withstand economic upheavals throughout american history, yet available studies estimate that only 0.002% of new england businesses are cooperatives. The center for an agricultural economy (CAE) works throughout vermont and western new hampshire to provide technical assistance, practical job training, and low-barrier access to capital to all but one of the existing food CO-OPS in vermont and to three in new hampshire. With nifa funding, CAE will conduct concerted outreach to identified food hubs in additional new england states to establish collaborative technical assistance programs to additional rural cooperatives in vermont, new hampshire, massachusetts, connecticut, and rhode island. The project will include the development of specialized technological tools to improve service delivery to CAE's existing CO-OP clients and to foster the creation of new cooperatives. Through these methods, CAE anticipates increasing the number of cooperative businesses served by at least 18% during the one-year project period. Supporting cooperatives in this way will support america's economic resurgence by reinforcing a reliable, industry-driven workforce pipeline from educational institutions to real-world business training programs and cooperative business support services. By addressing service gaps identified by cooperative businesses themselves, this project will strengthen the economic viability of this critical and impactful business model- the american cooperative business.