Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Vernita F. Dore recently 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. The funding comes from USDA Rural Development’s Value-Added Producer Grant program (VAPG).
“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.”
Twelve Wisconsin-based businesses received a total of $2,197,818 as part of the announcement.
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.
Receiving VAPG funding in Wisconsin include:
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Autumn Moon Farm – Bellville, Wis. – $24,335 in grant funds will be used to begin on-farm packaging and processing of small grains and hops to home brewers and bakers
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Wisconsin Hop Exchange Cooperative – Waterloo, Wis. – $50,000 in grant funds will help conduct a market feasibility analysis for Wisconsin hops
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Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians – Bayfield, Wis. – $51,799 in grant funds will help develop a feasibility study of value-added fish products including fresh fish fillets, smoked fillets, fish spread and herring caviar for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
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Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative – Madison, Wis. – $104,105 in grant funds will help extend the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperatives primary sales and marketing for lettuce and summer squash
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The Cider Farm, LLC – Mineral Point, Wis. – $227,579 in grant funds will be usedto expand the market of certified organic hard ciders and brandy marketed locally in Wisconsin and Chicago.
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Peterson Farms – Osceola, Wis. – $240,000 in grant funds will be used to fund toll processing and fabrication of cattle carcasses and to purchase finished cattle to supplement the supply.
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Ginseng & Herb Cooperative – Marathon, Wis.– $250,000 in grant funds to help market, promote and manage the delivered raw commodity and processing of the value added product in Vietnam
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Foremost Farms – Baraboo, Wis. – $250,000 in grant funds will be used to help increase sales of heat-treated permeate to Vietnam, Thailand the Philippines
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Tri-State Lumber & Land, Inc. – Rice Lake, Wis. – $250,000 in grant funds will be used to provide working capital for a sawmill to process and market "pallet parts"
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Burnett Dairy Cooperative – Grantsburg, Wis. – $250,000 in grant funds will be used to help expand the sales of meat infused string cheese
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Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery – Ellsworth, Wis. – $250,000 in grant funds will help to provide working capital for a creamery to expand direct sales of their cheese crumbles, a by-producer of their cheese curd production
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Cranberry Growers Cooperative – Wausau, Wis. – $250,000 in grant funds will help expand the marketing of packaged dried cranberries to the North American consumer market
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.
USDA Rural Development’s funding continues to have a dramatic impact on rural communities across Wisconsin. Since 2010, USDA Rural Development has invested more than $3.5 billion on essential public facilities, small and emerging businesses, water and sewer systems, and housing opportunities in rural Wisconsin communities.
USDA Rural Development’s mission is to deliver programs in a way that will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life of rural residents. As the lead federal agency for rural development needs, USDA Rural Development can help rural communities and regions grow and prosper by offering a variety of financial and technical assistance programs that encourage the development of strong community and economic development strategies.
During this past year, USDA Rural Development’s $571 million investment in Wisconsin helped create or retain nearly 1,380 jobs, aided 3,600 families in buying their own homes and assisted more than 50 communities as they made improvements to their facilities, services and infrastructure.
Further information on USDA Rural Development is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting the web site at www.rd.usda.gov/wi.