A pair of Davidson County farmers markets got a big boost with a little help from a faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

The Lexington Farmers Market and the Thomasville Farmers Market will expand, thanks to a $360,112 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Market Promotion Program. The president of the nonprofit Lexington Farmers Market credits an N.C. A&T webinar with helping her win USDA funding.

This video session was led by Chyi Lyi (Kathleen) Liang, Ph.D., the W.K. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Agriculture in the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education.

“The session with A&T was full of advice that only people with USDA grant writing and reviewing experience would have,” said Kivi Leroux Miller, president of the Lexington Farmers Market, which was awarded the federal grant in November. “I wholeheartedly believe that the advice made a difference in our ability to write a compelling proposal.

“Proposals are full of many little details, any of which can unwittingly sink your proposal. Dr. Liang shared tips on everything from the job titles to use for new hires to cautions about the percentage of the budget to spend on certain categories. Her practical no-nonsense approach was so refreshing after reading all the vague federal guidance.”

Liang conducted the virtual session for the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which administered the Farmers Market Promotion Program and other grant programs designed to strengthen local and regional agricultural markets. Eighteen people took part in Liang’s workshop last summer. She also helped another six people with their applications in individual sessions.

“The goal is to promote local food systems,” Liang said, “so it’s natural to encourage and provide support for community-based organizations to apply for these grants.”

The challenge, Liang said, is that the grant writing process can be daunting and tedious, even for seasoned grant writers such as herself. For community organizations applying for federal funding for the first time, the process can be overwhelming.

In her virtual session, Liang covered four key elements of applying for USDA grants: what types of projects fit within this particular grant program, how to develop a sound project, how to navigate the application process and key elements that applicants need to be aware of.

Her session paid off. The Lexington Farmers Market was one of 84 projects selected to share $37.5 million in federal funding to support farmers markets, roadside stands, agritourism and other direct producer-to-consumer marketing efforts involving local and regional food businesses.

The two Davidson County farmers markets will use the grant proceeds to hold winter markets on eight Saturdays from January to April at the Bull City Ciderworks in Lexington. The two markets also plan to hold pop-up markets year-round. In addition, the grant will help both markets and local farmers expand their marketing and advertising efforts.

For Liang, educating community members on the ins and outs of grant applications is satisfying. She came to A&T in 2016 as a teacher, scholar and co-director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, a partnership between A&T, N.C. State University and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. She also involves herself in community outreach, a sometimes overlooked but immensely rewarding part of her role as an A&T faculty member.

“After 40 years working in the field, this event” — helping local farmers markets win a federal grant — “reconfirms my passion as a service provider beyond just being a researcher or an educator or a director,” Liang said. “I realized that somebody can actually use me to move forward. That’s absolutely outstanding.”