By KEVIN WALKER Michigan Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. — The USDA announced late last month it is making $18 million available for the Value Added Producer Grant(VAPG) program. This provides competitive grants to producers for working capital, feasibility studies, business plans and marketing efforts to establish viable value-added businesses. Up to $75,000 is available for individual planning grants and up to $250,000 for implementation grants. Successful applicants must be able to provide 50 percent of total project costs. Last year the USDA had announced much more for this program, $46 million; however, according to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), more money may be added to what was announced for this year, putting it closer to what was available last cycle. This is because Congress may decide to fold money for the program in fiscal year 2018 with the funding announced August 28. Congress will likely finish its appropriations legislation in December, NSAC said. If this is done, the total amount of funds available for the VAPG program for the current round could amount to as much as $34 million. Individuals, groups of producers and farmer co-ops and producer-controlled businesses are eligible to apply for these grants, which are designed to help increase income and marketing opportunities for America’s farmers and ranchers, along with fishers, loggers and other harvesters of agricultural commodities. The VAPG can help producers who are interested in turning their raw ingredients into finished products and marketing them to a wider base of customers. Successful applicants for VAPG program grants last year included, from Illinois, Gretta’s Goat Milk Soap, Inc., in the amount of $41,299; Moragra PJ Farms, $250,000; Whiskey Acres Distilling Co., $250,000; and Rolling Lawns Farm LLC, $248,000. Recipients from Indiana included Daily Farms Enterprises, Inc., $61,532; Goat Milk Stuff LLC, $250,000; and Jerome P. Steckler, $78,000. Kentucky was one of the largest grant recipients last year, by both number of grants and total award. Businesses there receiving grants included Farmer Joe’s LLC, $224,167; Lanmark Farm LLC, $48,853; and Lee’s Plant Farm, Inc., $250,000. Awardees in Michigan included Aurora Cellars LLC, $240,000; Michigan Hop Alliance, $248,000; and Sunnyside Farms, $49,900. Those in Ohio included Hodges Creative Works LLC d/b/a Foraged, $8,559; and Canal Junction Farmstead Cheese LLC, $180,000. And grant recipients in Tennessee last year included Appalachian Region Wine Producers Assoc., $250,000; Delta Biorenewables LLC, $47,154; Winery at Seven Springs Farm LLC, $49,500; and Ethan Gouge, $10,000. According to a summary the USDA provided, Gouge’s project was a feasibility study in conjunction with University of Tennessee to determine the feasibility of a farm-based cider production operation, to add value to the farm’s certified organic orchard while tapping into growing markets for local farm products. The deadline to submit a paper application for this round is Jan. 31, 2018, while the deadline to submit an electronic application is Jan. 24. Electronic applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov The USDA has a toolkit available for applicants, which includes an application checklist, templates, required grant forms and instructions. This and other information about the program can be found at www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/value-added-producer-grants Look there under the “Forms & Resources” tab. |
