Brown Announces Northeast Ohio Agriculture Innovation Center Operated by The Ohio State University | U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced the Northeast Ohio Agriculture Innovation Center (NEO-AIC), operated by The Ohio State University, which will operate as a “one stop shop” for all value-added agriculture producers in Northeast Ohio, including: business development support; organizational assistance including connections to financial, legal, technical, and regulatory advice; and value chain coordination services. The NEO-AIC will also bring on the nation and the region’s first Amish and Plain Community Liaison to provide technical assistance to the Amish community in Northeast Ohio. This investment was awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agriculture Innovation Center Program.

“The Northeast Ohio Agriculture Innovation Center will help grow local small businesses and support local food production in Northeast Ohio,” said Brown. “When we give Ohio farm and food businesses more tools to sell their products, we can strengthen local supply chains, bring down prices, and allow small producers to better compete with large corporations.”

Brown is the first Ohio senator to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 50 years. As a committee member, Brown successfully secured a number of provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill, including permanent mandatory funding for USDA’s Value-Added Producer Grant Program and the reauthorization of the Agriculture Innovation Center Program. Brown has continually led bipartisan efforts to further increase investment in the Value-Added Producer Grant Program.

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