The U.S. EPA AgSTAR Program is pleased to provide information on U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Value-Added Producer Grant Program. Applications are being accepted for grants to provide economic assistance to independent producers, farmer and rancher cooperatives, and agricultural producer groups through the Value-Added Producer Grant Program. The grants may be used for feasibility studies or business plans, working capital for marketing value-added agricultural products, and for farm-based renewable energy projects, including anaerobic digester projects. Eligible applicants include independent producers, farmer and rancher cooperatives, and agricultural producer groups.
In 2009, VanDerHyde Dairy in Chatham, Virginia received a $150,000 grant from the USDA’s Value-Added Producer Program that helped the dairy with both start-up and planning costs to get an anaerobic digestion system.
The application deadline is Aug. 29. For further details about eligibility rules and application procedures, see the Federal Register. PD
—From AgSTAR news release
