USDA Rural Development Certifies Farmers Innovation Fund to Expand Private Investment in Rural Businesses

(Washington, D.C., July 16, 2026) - U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development today announced the certification of the Farmers Innovation Fund as a Rural Business Investment Company, expanding private-sector investment opportunities for innovative agricultural businesses serving rural America.

"Under President Trump's leadership, USDA is putting farmers first and driving investment to rural communities to ensure American agriculture leads the world in innovation," said Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Joe Gilson. "The Farmers Innovation Fund is a prime example of how this Administration is harnessing private capital and the ingenuity of American producers to build the next generation of agricultural technology right here at home, strengthening rural communities and our nation's food security in the process."

The Farmers Innovation Fund takes a different approach to investing in agricultural technology by putting farmers at the center of testing and evaluating new innovations. Instead of relying mainly on laboratory research or small pilot projects, companies receiving investment through the fund will work directly with farmers across a wide range of operations to test how new technologies perform under real-world farming conditions before broad market adoption.

"The Rural Business Investment Program is a catalyst for private investment in rural America, helping connect capital with the entrepreneurs and businesses that drive economic growth in our nation's rural communities," said USDA Rural Development's Rural Business-Cooperative Service Acting Administrator Victoria Collin. "By certifying the Farmers Innovation Fund, we're giving agricultural innovators a direct line to both capital and the producers who will put these technologies to work, and that partnership is what will move new tools from the drawing board to the field faster."

Supported by private investment, primarily from Farm Credit Institutions, and guided by farmers' expertise, the fund aims to bring promising technologies to the market faster, reduce the risk of adopting new innovations, strengthen U.S. agriculture supply chains, and create new opportunities for rural businesses, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers.

USDA Rural Development's Rural Business-Cooperative Service administers the Rural Business Investment Program , which licenses privately managed investment funds that provide financing to eligible rural business. Through the Rural Business Investment Program, the fund will provide much needed early-stage capital to companies developing technologies that improve farm productivity, profitability, resilience, and the long-term competitiveness of U.S. agriculture.

By encouraging experienced private fund managers to invest with rural stakeholders, Rural Development helps expand access to growth capital, encourage free enterprise, strengthen rural economies, and create quality jobs.

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