Process, Production, and Profitable Pathways: Advancing GAP Certification, Process Authority, and Market Access in West Virginia and Maryland

Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: food processing, food processing facilities/community kitchens, food product quality/safety
• Education and Training: farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research, technical assistance
• Farm Business Management: value added
• Sustainable Communities: food hubs, local and regional food systems, new business opportunities, partnerships

Project Focus

This project supports small and mid-scale farmers and value-added producers in West Virginia and Maryland as they scale beyond direct-to-consumer sales into institutional, wholesale, and manufacturing markets. Participants include members of Mountain State Co-Hop, a cooperative of 30 farmers and value-added businesses, along with a broader regional network of farmer partners. By channeling surplus and cosmetically imperfect crops into processed and wholesale outlets, they increase profit margins, reduce post-harvest waste, and support year-round revenue.

Identified Needs

Grounded in a theory of accompaniment, the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition (WVFFC) engages farmers, walking alongside producers to co-create solutions rooted in lived experience. Through surveys, listening sessions, advisory input, and technical assistance conversations, producers have identified persistent challenges: limited access to GAP certification required by institutional and manufacturing buyers; insufficient technical capacity to meet food safety and regulatory standards for commercial-scale and value-added production; lack of process authority approvals; and seasonal production misaligned with institutional purchasing cycles. These challenges restrict higher-value market access, reduce revenue, and limit opportunities for expanded production and employment.

Solution and Approach

WVFFC and Mountain State Co-Hop will implement a proof-of-concept pilot to demonstrate an integrated value chain strategy across production, processing, and market development, with the goal of showing clear return on investment and encouraging broader farmer and value-added producer participation.

Production: Support 30 specialty crop farmers by providing facilitating structured, peer-based on-farm learning experiences, and 1:1 technical assistance working toward GAP certification and subsidizing 10 farms 90% of GAP audit/certification costs. WV has very few GAP certified farms, this pilot will demonstrate feasibility, reduce perceived challenges, and expand access to institutional and interstate markets.

Processing: Support 30 value-added producers by providing 1:1 technical assistance, enabling producers to utilize FDA-compliant co-packing facilities and subsiding 51 recipes 90% of process authority costs. This pilot will establish a viable pathway to expanded market access and scaling food businesses.

Market Development: Dedicated product outreach specialist at the Mountain State Co-Hop Cooperative will target Mid-Atlantic markets to secure at least 10 new retail, restaurant, institutional, or manufacturing partners. This will be paired with buyer-oriented training and labeling technical assistance through the University of Kentucky MarketReady Program to ensure products meet wholesale and institutional buyer requirements.

Alignment with Northeast SARE Priorities

The project advances priorities in marketing and business development, crop production scaling, economic sustainability, food safety compliance, and farmer-to-farmer education. These coordinated strategies strengthen market readiness and farm resilience.

Alignment with Legislative Priorities

The project protects the health and safety of individuals in the food and farm system through expanded GAP certification and regulatory compliance. It increases employment opportunities in agriculture by enabling farms to expand production, access higher-value markets, and grow value-added enterprises within rural communities.

Farming Community Outcomes
This project serves small and mid-scale farmers and value-added producers in WV and MD seeking to scale from seasonal direct-to-consumer sales into institutional, wholesale, and manufacturing markets. Expected outcomes include increased knowledge of compliance pathways, strengthened capacity to meet institutional, manufacturing, and wholesale requirements, improved coordination across production, processing, and marketing systems, and a replicable value chain model adaptable across the region.

Research Question
Will an integrated value-chain model that subsidizes GAP certification and process authority approvals, provides technical assistance, leverages existing co-packing infrastructure, and secures buyer commitments increase producer participation in higher-value markets, resulting in measurable revenue growth?

Project Objectives
1. 30 farmers will receive 1:1 technical support towards gap certification and 10 farmers will obtain subsidized GAP audit/certification, increasing eligibility for institutional, interstate, and manufacturing markets.

2. 30 producers will receive 1:1 technical support towards engaging value-added process authority and 51 value-added recipes will obtain process authority approvals transitioning from cottage food to commercial-scale production.
   
   
3. Secure 10 institutional, wholesale, or manufacturing partnerships and facilitate producer market entry through dedicated sales outreach and buyer-oriented training.
   
   
4. Demonstrate proof of concept by evaluating certification adoption rates, market entry, sales growth, and revenue changes.