By Clare Salerno, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
Primary producers of farm and forest products can now apply now for the ARPA-Funded Primary Producer grant opportunity! The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative (WLEI) has released a request for applications (RFA) totaling $1,000,000. This grant opportunity is possible due to federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds appropriated by the Vermont legislature to the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative. The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative anticipates releasing a second ARPA-Funded Primary Producer Grant opportunity in 2023, with available funds of up to $1,000,000. Examples of eligible primary production activities are farming, livestock rearing, maple sugaring, dairy, and logging.
The goal of the ARPA-Funded Primary Producer grant is to support primary producers in continuing to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants will need to demonstrate how their business experienced a negative economic impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even if that impact was not sustained (e.g., experienced an increased operational cost, decreased revenue or gross receipts, increased costs, challenges covering payroll, or other harm that can be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic). Primary producers can use grant funds to invest in market development, infrastructure, processing, and workforce development initiatives that advance their use of the primary products they have produced.
Grant requests for the ARPA-Funded Primary Producer Grant can be from $50,000 to $250,000. Please read the request for applications (link below) to learn about eligibility, the application process, and review the application questions. The pre-application deadline is December 16, 2022. Notification of pre-application decisions will occur in early February 2023. Successful applicants will then be invited to submit a full application.
To review the ARPA Funded Primary Producer Grant request for applications, visit https://workinglands.vermont.gov/document/FY23-ARPA-RFA.
Please visit https://workinglands.vermont.gov/ and https://www.facebook.com/VTWorkingLands, for WLEI updates. On the WLEI website, you can sign up for the WLEI mailing list and the weekly Agricultural Development email newsletter. For more information, please contact Clare Salerno at clare.salerno@vermont.gov or by phone, 802-917-2537.