The Maryland Value Added Producer Grant Program (MVAPG) was established to make grants available to those pursuing obtaining financial support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Value Added Producer Grants Program (USDA VAPG).  MARBIDCO will make grants available to eligible applicants to provide up15% of the non-federal matching requirement under the USDA VAPG.  These funds will be required to be used for planning or working capital purposes in accordance with USDA regulations.  Eligible purposes include determining appropriate marketing techniques and creating business plans or paying operating expenses before a business has sufficient cash flow from operations.  Under the USDA VAPG all applications will be screened for eligibility and competitively evaluated on a nationwide basis.

In 2009, ten percent of available funds are reserved to fund applicants who are Beginning Farmers (or farmers of less than 10 years) and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers.  An additional ten percent of available funds are reserved to fund Mid-Tier Value Chain Producers. If you have questions for the Maryland/Delaware Office of USDA-Rural Development, please contact Signe Hippert at 302/857-3628 or Bruce Weaver at 302/857-3629 or visit USDA's website for details at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm. Also, there are two links to the right with additional information on the Maryland Value Added Producer Grant Program.

Applicants seeking to receive MARBIDCO matching funds for the USDA VAPG must submit a MVAPG application to MARBIDCO at least two weeks prior to the federal submission deadline. Applicants must attach a complete, or nearly complete, copy of their federal application form to MARBIDCO as part of the submission including all required attachments. All MVAPG applicants meeting the MARBIDCO requirements will receive a commitment letter of matching funds to be included with their federal applications. The MVAPG commitment amount cannot exceed 15% of the required non-federal match, and it may be for a lesser amount depending on the quantity of MVAPG applications that are received and the pool of available MARBIDCO funds. MVAPG monetary awards will only be provided to those applicants that are actually successful in obtaining USDA VAPG awards. Please refer to the MVAPG application form for more information.

If you have any questions about the Maryland program, please contact Kristen Robinson, MARBIDCO Financial Programs Manager, at 410/267-6807.

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