United States Department of Agriculture • Rural Development
1221 College Park Drive, Suite 200, Dover, DE 19904
Phone: (302) 857-3580 • Fax: (302) 857-3640 • TDD: (302) 857-3585 • Web: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov
January 3, 2006
By: Marlene B. Elliott, USDA Rural Development State Director
How can we keep the farm running? How can we bring back Ag production as the economic engine of the rural economy? USDA Rural Development’s Value-Added Producer Grant program may be the tool you’re looking for.
The Value-Added Producer Grant Program was designed to help bring new uses to farm products and increase the agricultural producers’ customer base. It is designed to help keep agriculture strong before it disappears from the rural economy. As producers of crops and livestock, American farmers receive only what the market pays for a raw commodity. But when they are able to perform further processing themselves, they can reap far greater rewards, thereby increasing farm income. The key to this new vision is generating economic activity, not from government programs, but from the marketplace.
The program was first authorized by the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 and was amended by the 2002 Farm Bill. The Notice of Solicitation of Applications (NOSA) was published in the Federal Register dated December 21, 2005 and calls for the following:
$19,475,000 in competitive grant funds is available to help independent agricultural producers enter into value-added activities. Of this amount, $1.5 million is set aside for applicants requesting $25,000 or less. Awards may be made for planning activities or for working capital expenses, but not for both. The maximum grant amount for a planning grant is $100,000 and the maximum grant amount for a working capital grant is $300,000.
Value-Added can mean one of the following:
Changing the physical state of a commodity, i.e. soybeans into snacks.
Differentiated production or marketing, as demonstrated in a business plan; i.e. organic tomatoes.
Product segregation; i.e. identity preserved corn (having the capability of tracing the corn back to the field where it was grown.)
Production of farm-based renewable energy; i.e. electricity generated from an anaerobic lagoon.
Some examples of successful Delaware and Maryland Value Added Producer Grant applicants/projects include:
Mid-Atlantic Biodiesel Company, LLC located in Clayton, Delaware. A facility that will manufacture an alternative fuel made from soybeans.
Kilby Cream located in Colora, Maryland. A family owned business that will process farm fresh milk into quality ice cream.
Just Shrimp, Inc. located in Laurel, Delaware. An independent aquaculture shrimp growing operation expanding to a network of growers.
Applications are being accepted through March 31, 2006. The criteria and deadline can be obtained by contacting the USDA Rural Development State Office below, or through its website at www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm.
Contact for Delaware and Maryland:
Ms. Signe Hippert, Business and Community Programs Specialist
USDA Rural Development
1221 College Park Drive, Suite 200
Dover, DE 19904
Phone: (302) 857-3625
Fax: (302) 857-3635
Committed to the future of rural communities.
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To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).