WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small announced this month that USDA is accepting applications for grants to help farmers and ranchers maximize the value of the items they produce. USDA is making the grants available under the Value-Added Producer Grants program. The grants help agricultural producers … [Read more...]
USDA touts loan guarantee program
WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced USDA is deploying $100 million under the new Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program to make available nearly $1 billion in loan guarantees; these loan guarantees will back private investment in processing and food supply infrastructure. The funding is available through the American Rescue … [Read more...]
Farmers, ranchers and rural businesses: Shape future USDA grant funding
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is calling for feedback on its $76 million Value-Added Producer Grant Program, which provides funding for rural businesses, ranchers and farmers to grow their income by developing and marketing new products. The program hosts a national competition to award $75,000 planning grants and $250,000 working capital grants to independent … [Read more...]
Help the USDA improve funding for rural co-ops
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is soliciting feedback on how to better award grants to launch, grow and enhance cooperatives in rural areas. Specifically, the department wants to know how it can improve the application process, eligibility requirements and evaluation criteria for its Rural Cooperative Development Grant program. The RCDG program hosts a national … [Read more...]
USDA seeks input on $7.4M grant program for farmers and rural businesses
The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to know how its Agriculture Innovation Center Program can better support farmers and rural businesses that sell value-added agricultural products, such as ethanol, jam, flour, or beef jerky. The USDA Agricultural Innovation Center Program was created to stimulate economic development in rural areas by supporting producers of … [Read more...]