Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Vernita F. Dore today highlighted the importance of rural entrepreneurs to the U.S. economy and announced that USDA is investing nearly $34 million to help 258 businesses nationwide. Five Nebraska businesses are receiving a total of nearly $315,000. The funding comes from USDA Rural Development’s Value-Added Producer Grant program.
“This funding will enable farmers and ranchers to develop new products, improve the bottom line for their operations and help create a robust local and regional food system,” Dore said. “Value-Added Producer Grants provide capital to enable ag producers to grow their business through diversification. USDA’s support is especially important for beginning farmers and smaller farm operations.”
The five Nebraska recipients are:
Cedar County:
Burbach’s Countryside Dairy, LLC will utilize $240,000 to enter into the commercial marketplace with a new product by expanding their value-added product line to include yogurt. The 36 month project will commercialize production and sales of this entirely new product, which is expected to reach a customer base of over 17,000.
Hall County:
CornCoctions, LLC is receiving $15,000 to develop a business and marketing plan in order to determine the feasibility of producing value-added products from corn plant material. The business and marketing plan will focus on the ability to use corn leaves to produce a dry tea, liquid beverage, food additive and/or other food products.
Knox County:
Sweet Corn Products, LLC will utilize $5,637 to develop a feasibility study to assess the viability of manufacturing and marketing wildlife attractant blocks that utilizes dry mature sweet corn as the primary ingredient.
Saline County:
Lone Tree Foods, LLC received $4,000 to develop an efficient online ordering system, which will improve access to local foods by increasing their sales capacity. They will also implement a Farm-to-Faith program that will connect faith communities with farm fresh local foods.
Saunders County:
Darby Springs Farm, LLC owned and operated by Crystal and William Powers, will use $49,999 to create and expand their farmstead ice cream and milk caramel topping. These products are made from local grass fed milk, eggs, and other fresh local fruits, nuts, and herbs that are produced or grown on the Darby Springs Farm.
Value-Added Producer Grants can be used to develop new agricultural products or additional markets for existing ones. Military veterans, socially-disadvantaged and beginning farmers and ranchers, operators of small- and medium-sized family farms and ranches, and farmer and rancher cooperatives are given priority when applying for these grants.
View VAPG recipients announced today. Funding of each award announced today is contingent upon the recipient meeting the terms of the grant agreement.
Since 2009, USDA has awarded 1,115 Value-Added Producer Grants totaling $154 million. Approximately 18 percent of the grants and 14 percent of total funding has been awarded to beginning farmers and ranchers. During 2015, more than one-third of Value-Added awards went to farmers and ranchers developing products for the local foods sector.
Value-Added Producer Grants are a key element of USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative, which coordinates the Department’s work on local and regional food systems. These are major contributors to rural economic development. Congress increased funding for the Value-Added program when it passed the 2014 Farm Bill. That measure builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past seven years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers.
Rural Development helped 84 agricultural producers carry out local foods projects in 2014 through almost $8.9 million in Value-Added Producer Grant awards.
President Obama’s plan for rural America has produced historic investment in rural communities. Under the President’s leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have strengthened America’s small towns and cities and helped improve the nation’s economy.