Oregon
Business & Cooperative Programs

Valued-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) Program
(last updated October 30, 2009)

Go to the RD-Oregon Business Programs home page

The VAPG program provides 50%-matching grants to farmers, ranchers, foresters, and fishermen for either planning or working capital purposes to implement value-added ventures -- i.e. marketing or processing projects that add value to the commodities they produce -- or for some types of on-farm renewable energy generation projects.  The goal of the program is to help agricultural producers generate new products, expand market opportunities, and increase their income from the commodities they produce. 

A revised FY2009 VAPG solicitation was published in the Federal Register on September 1, 2009.  The deadline for applications is November 30, 2009.
Scroll down for FY2009 VAPG templates.

Getting Started

There are five eligible "value-added" activities that VAPG can support:

Category #1
Commodity processing
Category #2
Nonstandard production methods *
Category #3
Commodity segregation
Category #4
Renewable energy
(on-farm)
Category #5
Locally-produced food products *
Increasing value by changing the commodity's physical state Increasing value by raising the commodity using a "nonstandard" production method Increasing value by keeping the commodity physically apart in production and distribution Primarily *** transforming ag commodities & their byproducts into energy on the farmstead Increasing value by marketing the commodity within state or within 400 miles of the farm
Examples: 
Wine, jam, flour, sliced fruit, biodiesel
Examples:
Organic, free-range, "natural"
Examples: 
GMO-free;
varietal purity
Examples:
Biomass, anaerobic digesters
Examples:
Locally-grown

Planning
or Working Capital **

No Planning grants;
Working Capital ONLY
**

Planning
or Working Capital **

Planning
or Working Capital **

Planning
or Working Capital **

    * Note!  Branded products (or products packaged in a non-standard way) are not VAPG-eligible in 2009.
  ** Note!
 Working Capital applications must be supported by an already-completed independent feasibility study and business plan.  If you are planning to seek a Working Capital grant, you should make arrangements to obtain your supporting feasibility study as soon as possible.
*** Note!  Energy projects using wind, solar, geothermal, or hydro resources are eligible only if the energy will be used on-farm to power another value-added activity; simple energy generation from these resources is not eligible.

Recent Projects

Application Process

Application Templates

Once you complete your application, you can make sure it is complete by using the checklist below:

Regulations

Help for Grant Awardees

Links

RD-Oregon contacts for the VAPG program