Ag of the Middle Accelerator

As consolidation and industrialization of food production continues, we identified that mid-sized, independent, regional producers could be vital to democratizing and diversifying food production, rebuilding soil health and improving water quality, and building both economic and social capital in agricultural communities.

In 2015, we embarked on a planning project to help define goals, strategies, and interventions for rebuilding the Agriculture of the Middle in our region.

We arrived at two primary conclusions:

1. Small producers must make multiple “quantum leaps” to cross the chasm between small and mid-sized, and to profitably grow, they must often expand their land base, infrastructure, processing capacity, labor force, and sales simultaneously. Lack of available financing, business management and tax planning expertise, and support for sales and marketing often pose significant barriers to crossing this chasm. Consequently, producers would benefit from comprehensive support to smooth the transition from small to mid-sized.
2. Although there exists a broad constellation of service providers in our region that train farmers in business management best practices, provide financing and capital, and preserve agricultural land, there are no organizations in the Pacific Northwest that facilitate economies of scale for mid-sized producers and processors or facilitate multi-organizational collaboration on holistic solutions.

Following this period of research, we launched the Accelerator in 2017, aiming to build long-term survivability and wealth for small and mid-sized regional producers. After developing a strong business management foundation, participants were connected with retail and institutional food buyers, enabling processing and distribution infrastructure, as well as lenders and investors who can support growth.

Since its launch in 2017, the Accelerator supported the development of 65 farmers, ranchers, and fishers from northern California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.