Washington—US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack last week announced the launch of a private investment fund with the potential to inject $100 million into small food and agriculture businesses across rural America.

The fund, known as the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund, will be the fourth Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) that USDA has helped to create since 2014, and is part of the agency’s efforts to help attract private sector capital to investment opportunities in rural America to help drive more economic growth.

The Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund will invest in companies with high growth potential across the food and agribusiness value chain and rural America, including those in the crop protection, agricultural production and processing, precision agriculture, and information and data management sectors.

USDA is utilizing RBIP to license funds to invest in enterprises that will create growth and job opportunities in rural areas, with an emphasis on smaller enterprises.