MDA awards Value Added Grants to 23 Minnesota organizations

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Twenty-three Minnesota agricultural producers and processors have been awarded funding from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's (MDA) Value Added Grant program. The Value Added Grant program supports projects that will increase the sales of Minnesota agricultural products through added processing, marketing or manufacturing. The grant is part of the MDA's Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Program, which administers grant funding to farmers, agribusinesses, schools, and more throughout the state of Minnesota.

By selling value-added products, farmers, producers, and processors can grow their businesses and create new jobs. The MDA's Value Added Grant Program is entering its fifth year of supporting new and established for-profit businesses.

"The Value Added Grant program has allowed us to expand our wine production capacity by nearly 100% and has helped us to diversify our packaging to include single-serve bottles," said Tami Bredeson, president of Carlos Creek Winery and former grant recipient. "The ability to offer single serve bottles has made our product more appealing to Minnesota restaurants, resulting in a 200% growth in the number of placements of our wines on local restaurant menus."

Awardees will use funds to purchase equipment or improve their agricultural product processing facility to broaden current markets or enter new ones. The projects will increase the value and sales of a wide range of Minnesota agricultural products including livestock, soybeans, flaxseed, fruit and vegetables, and more. A total of $896,425 was awarded in this round with a median award of $27,300.

Equipment purchases or physical improvement projects may be eligible for Value Added Grant funding, and up to 25% of the total project cost may be reimbursed with a maximum grant award of $150,000 and a minimum grant award of $1,000.

A complete list of the second round of Fiscal Year 2016 Value Added Grant recipients may be found online: http://www.mda.state.mn.us/grants/grants/valueaddedgrant/valueaddedrecipients.aspx.

Applications are now being accepted for the Fiscal Year 2017 Value Added Grant program. To view the Request for Proposals and submit an application, visit http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0mYXVpZD0mbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTYwODMwLjYzMTQ5MTUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE2MDgzMC42MzE0OTE1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE2ODUwMzc1JmVtYWlsaWQ9aW5mb0ByZWRsYWtlbmF0aW9ubmV3cy5jb20mdXNlcmlkPWluZm9AcmVkbGFrZW5hdGlvbm5ld3MuY29tJnRhcmdldGlkPSZmbD0mZXh0cmE9TXVsdGl2YXJpYXRlSWQ9JiYm&&&101&&&http://www.mda.state.mn.us/grants/grants/valueaddedgrant.aspx.