USDA Seeks Applications for Grants to Help Rural Businesses Produce and Market Value-Added Products

Bozeman, Mont. – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced Dec. 5, that USDA is accepting applications for grants to establish and operate Agriculture Innovation Centers (AIC). AICs provide technical and business development assistance to agricultural producers seeking to market or produce value-added products.

USDA is making $8 million available under the Agriculture Innovation Center Program. AICs may use the grants to provide assistance to help agricultural producers develop and market value-added products as follows:

business development services

market development services

financial advisory services

process development services, such as engineering, production system scale ups, scale production assessments and systems development

organizational assistance, including legal and technical advisory services

value chain coordination

product development, excluding research and development

grants of $5,000 or less to agricultural producers for the services listed above

center start-up and operation

Recipients must provide matching funds of least one-third of the project budget.

Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, commercial organizations, local governments, state governments, Indian Tribes, and institutions of higher education. Applications for grants must be submitted through Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on March 5, 2023. For more information, see page 74392 of the Dec. 5, 2022, Federal Register.

For more information on how to apply for the Agriculture Innovation Center Program, contact Lad Barney, Business and Cooperative Programs Director for USDA Rural Development in Montana at 406-309-3350 or [email protected].

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