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GENERAL
INFORMATION: |
- The maximum award per
grant is $300,000 for working capital and $100,000 for planning (subject to change annually)
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Applicants must provide matching funds at least equal to the amount of the
grant
- All business applicants must have a DUNS number, individuals are
exempt
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ELIGIBLE
APPLICANTS:
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- Independent
producers
- Individual producer or a producer owned corporation, LLC, or LLP
-
Steering committee of producers in the process of organizing
-
Cannot produce under contract or joint ownership with any group other than
their own
- Agricultural producer groups
- Trade association
or commodity group representing independent producers
- Farmer or
rancher cooperatives
- Business ventures that are majority owned and
controlled by producers
- Producer groups, cooperatives, and majority owned
businesses must be entering emerging markets
- A new product going into an
old or new market
- An old product going into a new market
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ELIGIBLE
PRODUCTS:
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- Products
that have undergone a change in a physical state or form
- Example,
milling wheat into flour, slaughtering beef
- Products produced in a
manner that enhances its value, as demonstrated by a business plan
-
Example, organically produced
- Physical segregation of products in a
manner that enhances its value
- Example, identity
preserved marketing system
- Using agricultural products to produce
renewable energy on a farm
- Example, collecting
methane from animal waste and using to generate energy
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ELIGIBLE
PURPOSES: |
- Planning
activities
- Feasibility studies
- Marketing and business plans
- Legal
evaluations
- Working capital
- Legal and accounting costs,
salaries, utilities, inventories, office equipment, supplies, etc. (To
receive working capital, applicants must furnish an independent feasibility
study and a business plan for Rural Development approval)
- Can apply
for one or the other, but not both
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INELIGIBLE
PURPOSES:
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- Costs
associated with buildings or equipment
-
Engineering design for a specific facility
- Costs incurred prior to
receiving the grant
- Expenses related to agricultural production
- Pay for
preparation of the grant application
- Expenses not directly related to the
funded venture
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FOR MORE
INFORMATION:
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Visit the
Value Added website at:
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm |
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