Editor’s Note: The Value-Added Producer Grant webinar was held on May 6, 2016. A recording of the webinar is available here: VAPG Webinar Recording.
In early April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of $44 million in funding through the competitive Value-added Producer Grant Program (VAPG). Recognizing that applying for federal grants can be challenging, even for professional grant-writers, USDA and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) are partnering on a webinar for prospective applicants and groups that work with farmers and ranchers. The webinar will be held on May 6 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. eastern time.
The webinar will include program and funding history, an overview of the program, information about eligibility, application requirements, application evaluation and scoring criteria, examples of funded projects, supporting resources, and plenty of time for detailed questions and answers.
Pre-registration is not required and not available for this webinar. Participants will need to use their computer’s audio and the “chat” feature instead of phone lines. There will not be a phone dial-in option. To participate on May 6 at 2:00 p.m. follow the directions below:
- Step 1 – go to the following website : http://www.readytalk.com
- Step 2 – On the left side of the screen, enter Participant Access Code: 7207502
Other Resources
In addition to partnering with USDA for this webinar, NSAC has released an updated version of its annual Farmers’ Guide to Applying for the Value-Added Producer Grant Program, a unique resource that walks farmers through the program’s application requirements, including a step-by-step description of the application and ranking processes.
Administered by USDA Rural Development, VAPG provides competitive grants to help farmers and ranchers take their businesses to the next level by transforming raw goods into higher-value processed products like flour, cheese, or sauces/spreads, by innovative marketing of inherently higher value products like organic or grass-fed, or by linking through food hubs or other supply chain networks to local and regional food markets.
The grants can be used for working capital, feasibility studies, business plans, and marketing efforts. Up to $75,000 is available for planning grants and up to $250,000 is available for implementation grants.
The deadline to submit paper applications for VAPG is July 1, while electronic applications are due June 24 through grants.gov.
Potential applicants can learn more about the program by visiting NSAC’s Grassroots Guide to Federal Farm and Food Programs page on the VAPG program. In addition to NSAC’s resources, more information, including application details, is available on the USDA VAPG webpage.
We are trying to organize the Southwest Iowa Food Co-op. It would be a retail store for fresh and shelf stable produce and preserved produce.
It would also contain a Community Kitchen with full HACCP procedures and be available under supervision to the producers for Value Added Product preparation.
We need help.
Hi Carl! Good luck with your project! Unfortunately, I don’t think the VAPG program is the right fit, as it is only for producers or producer groups. With that said, I would encourage you to checkout our Grassroots Guide for information on other relevant programs that might help support you project. The following is a short list of programs I think might be applicable: Business & Industry Loan Guarantee Local Food Set-aside, the Rural Business Development Program, and the Local Food Promotion Program . Also, I highly recommend contacting you state USDA Rural Develop Office to discuss your plans, they should be able to help you and provide more information.
I’m getting invalid access with the access code. Please check
7207502 is the correct code, for others with this problem.
Just found out from readytalk.com that the correct access code is: 7207502
We are unable to access the Webinar. It keeps saying “invalid credentials”. Will this webinar be recorded and posted anywhere for later viewing?
Hi Debra – yes, it will be recorded! If you have difficulty with the passcode, try this alternate one: 7207502.
Hi Debra,
Sorry the challenges accessing the webinar! You can find a recording of the webinar at the following link: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/playback/Playback.do?id=7eofiq
Where can I find the recorded webinar for the Value-Added Producer grant?
Hi Denise. The link is at the top of this blog post.