Value-Added Grants Expand Producer Revenue

By Val Ankeny, Center for Rural Affairs

Agricultural producers looking to expand their operations through value-added products, are encouraged to apply for a Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG). Applications will be accepted through April 17.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development announced $30 million in funding for the VAPG program, which provides grants for producers, as well as farmer and rancher cooperatives. The funding can be used to generate new products, and create or expand marketing opportunities that help producers generate additional income.

Up to $75,000, is available for planning grants or up to $250,000, for working capital grants. Matching funds of 100 percent are an eligibility requirement.

Planning activities may include conducting feasibility studies, or the development of business and marketing plans. Working capital expenses may include processing costs, marketing and advertising expenses, or select inventory and salary expenses.

Value-added activities can include the development of products from produce grown on a farm, such as jams or jellies, syrups, sauces and oils. Processing, packaging and marketing a dairy farm’s milk into ice cream, cheese curds and other products, or weaving textiles from fleece harvested on the ranch, are other examples of value-added products.

Feeding cattle, and owning them through harvest and processing, and then selling the meat, is another type of eligible value-added activity.

To locate your state USDA Rural Development office for application materials and assistance, visit rd.usda. gov.

Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, non-profit organization, working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities, through action-oriented programs addressing social, economic and environmental issues.