Bridges to Opportunity (Bridges) is a service provided by U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) that bridges the gap between agricultural producers and non-USDA partner organizations. The service will launch in select FSA county offices in April 2016. Through the Bridges software application, FSA is able to provide additional services to farmers and ranchers that will benefit and grow their operation and ultimately help them meet their goals.
USDA has partnered with numerous local, state, regional and national agricultural organizations that offer programs, nongovernmental grants, technical assistance, financial advice and other information helpful to today’s producers. Instead of farmers and ranchers researching for hours to find services offered by these organizations, a visit to their county office to meet with an FSA representative can help answer many of these questions.
Bridges works when a producer comes into a county office to request information. For example, a farmer or rancher may need information on organic production. An FSA employee can enter “organics” in the Bridges software application and a list of all local, state, regional and national organizations offering resources and services on organic production will come up. The FSA employee can email or print the information for the producer and send an email to one or more partner organizations, informing them that the producer has an interest in learning more about their service or program. The Bridges software application will contain information on all subject matters that affect producers, such as drought relief, beginning farmer information and disaster assistance.
Bridges will launch in fall 2015 in 20 states and 202 county offices that service 318 counties. The state and counties are listed below:
State | Counties |
California | Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity |
Colorado | Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld, Yuma |
Connecticut | Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland, Windham |
Florida | Broward, Charlotte, Collier, De Soto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Sarasota, St. Luciee |
Illinois | Bond, Clinton, Fayette, Jefferson, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair, Washington |
Iowa | Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Calhoun, Dickinson, Emmet, Humboldt, Kossuth, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux |
Louisiana | Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, Franklin, LaSalle, Madison, Tensas |
Massachusetts | Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester |
Minnesota | Carlton, Carver, Clay, Cook, Cottonwood, East Polk, Faribault, Kanabec, Kittson, Lake, Martin, McLeod, Mower, Meeker, Morrison, Norman, North St. Louis, Pine, Red Lake, Rock, South St. Louis, Todd, Traverse, Watonwan |
Missouri | Boone, Callaway, Cole, Franklin, Gasconade, Howard, Jefferson, Lincoln, Maries, Miller, Montgomery, Osage, Pike, St. Charles, St. Louis, Warren |
Nebraska | Chase, Dawson, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Gosper, Hayes, Hitchcock, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Perkins, Phelps, Red Willow |
Nevada | Carson City, Douglas, Esmeralda, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, Mineral |
New York | Albany, Allegany, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Cortland, Genesee, Jefferson, Monroe, Oneida, Onondgaga, Ontario, Orange, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, St. Lawrence, Steuben, Tompkins, Warren, Washington, Yates |
North Carolina | Alleghany, Ashe, Cumberland, Durham, Halifax, Hoke, Orange, Person, Robeson, Scotland, Wilkes |
Ohio | Athens, Hocking, Licking, Wayne |
Oregon | Clatsop, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Hood River, Jefferson, Malheur, Marion, Polk, Tillamook, Umatilla, Wasco, Washington |
Texas | Anderson, Austin, Bexar, Cameron, Comanche, Cottle, Crane, Dallam, Delta, Ector, Hale, Hopkins, Houston, Knox, Lavaca, Leon, Madison, Martin, Midland, Motley, Nueces, Rains, Washington, Wood, Young |
Virginia | Allegany, Bath, Charles City, Henrico, James City, King George, New Kent, Rockbridge, Spotsylvania, Stafford, York |
West Virginia | Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Braxton, Brooke, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mineral, Mingo, Monongalia, Monroe, Morgan, Nicholas, Ohio, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Randolph, Raleigh, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood, Wyoming |
Wisconsin | Adams, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Marquette, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Sauk, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waushara |
Bridges began as a pilot in five states — Connecticut, Texas, Minnesota, Oregon and North Carolina — and 12 county offices in October 2014. It is currently in its second phase and will continue to expand nationwide.
Each of the fives state focused on different customer segments:
To learn more about Bridges, download the brochure or view the fact sheet.