Opportunity Information: Apply for RDBCP VAPG 2017
The Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) opportunity is a discretionary USDA Rural Development funding program run through the Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Its purpose is to help agricultural producers move beyond selling raw commodities by supporting projects that add value to what they grow or raise. In practical terms, this program is aimed at helping producers increase revenue and strengthen rural businesses by funding activities tied to developing, marketing, and expanding value-added agricultural products, such as processing, packaging, branding, marketing, or other steps that allow a producer to capture a larger share of the final consumer dollar.
For this particular notice (Funding Opportunity Number RDBCP VAPG 2017, CFDA 10.352), USDA indicated that approximately 18 million dollars was available at the time of publication, with the possibility of using additional funds if more become available after the notice is released. The agency also noted that the final amount could change depending on federal budget actions, such as a continuing resolution or an appropriations act, and that the official funding level would be posted on the USDA Rural Development VAPG webpage.
The award instrument is a grant, and the maximum award size listed is 250,000 dollars. The agency expected to make about 200 awards under this competition, which suggests a relatively broad national competition with many recipients, but also implies that applications would need to be well-prepared and competitive to score highly. The original application deadline for the notice provided was January 24, 2018, and the opportunity was originally created on August 29, 2017.
Eligibility is focused on agricultural producers and producer-controlled entities. The groups specifically called out include Independent Producers, Agricultural Producer Groups, Farmer or Rancher Cooperatives, and Majority-Controlled Producer-Based Businesses. In other words, applicants generally need to be producers themselves or organizations that are primarily owned and controlled by producers, aligning the program with its goal of ensuring that farmers and ranchers benefit directly from value-added business development rather than outside intermediaries.
A notable administrative detail in the notice is that it also announces the solicitation of non-federal independent grant reviewers. These reviewers are brought in to evaluate and score applications submitted under the notice, which signals that applications are judged through a structured, competitive review process and that scoring quality, completeness, and alignment with program objectives matter significantly.
Overall, this VAPG notice describes a USDA funding opportunity designed to stimulate rural economic development by helping producers plan, start, or grow value-added ventures. It sets out a significant national funding pool (about 18 million dollars at publication), a substantial per-award cap (up to 250,000 dollars), an expectation of numerous awards, and a competitive review process supported by independent, non-federal reviewers.Apply for RDBCP VAPG 2017
- The Rural Business-Cooperative Service in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "VALUE ADDED PRODUCER GRANT" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.352.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2017-08-29.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 200 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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