Today U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development visited Tilford Winery to celebrate a $31,500 planning grant award that will be used for determining market feasibility and product development for new muscadine grape juice products. Project funding comes from USDA’s Value Added Producer Grant program.
“Value Added grants provide a much-needed source of financing to help producers develop new product lines and increase their income,” said Jill Stuckey, Rural Development Georgia State Director.
Value Added grants can be used to develop new product lines from raw agricultural products or promote additional uses for established products. Veterans, socially-disadvantaged groups, beginning farmers and ranchers, operators of small- and medium-sized family farms and ranches, and farmer and rancher cooperatives are given special priority.
Tilford Winery was established in 2001 and released its first label in 2004. The grant funds will be used to pay 50 percent of the costs for consultants to determine the feasibility and plan for producing muscadine juice that will be marketed and distributed throughout the Southeastern US. The juice will be provided to school systems and restaurants as well as retail outlets. An expansion into juice production would mean new jobs. Tilford anticipates hiring at least five full time workers and 12 part-time/seasonal workers to support its proposed muscadine juice production.
Since 2009, USDA Rural Development (@USDARD
) has invested nearly $13 billion to start or expand nearly 112,000 rural businesses; and invested $38.2 billion in 1,057 electric projects that have financed more than 198,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines serving 4.6 million rural residents. USDA also helped 1.1 million rural residents buy homes; funded nearly 9,200 community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care facilities; and helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents and businesses. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/results.