Skip to content
Unclaimed
Discovery tool, not advice. Every figure is the published rule, not a decision on your case.
Grants

Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG)

Status

Usually opens in January and February and March and April

Projected from the months this call usually opens — not a date the funder has confirmed.

Closed

Projected from the pattern of past calls — confirm on the funder's page before planning around it.

Amount
$200,000

Planning grants up to $50,000 and working capital grants up to $200,000. A 1:1 match is required - at minimum one dollar of matching funds for every dollar requested, in cash or eligible in-kind contributions. About $25 million was available in FY2026.

You must co-fund 50%. Work out the cash you need

Funder

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development

public · national

Deadline: One call a year — FY2026 applications were due by 1:00pm Eastern on 22 April 2026 through the Grant Application Portal.

Your odds
Not published

This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.

Effort
major

Major bid — written case, budget, possibly partners.

You fund 50% yourself.

Who can apply

Four eligible applicant types: independent for-profit agricultural producers, agricultural producer groups, farmer and rancher cooperatives, and majority-controlled producer-based businesses. Reserved allocations: 10% each for beginning/veteran/socially-disadvantaged farmers, mid-tier value chain projects and food safety projects.

How to apply

  1. Confirm you are an eligible producer type and that the product is a value-added agricultural product
  2. Prepare the work plan, budget and matching funds documentation
  3. For working capital grants over $50,000, obtain the required independent feasibility study and business plan
  4. Submit through the USDA Grant Application Portal by the deadline

What you will need

Related reading: How grant deadlines actually work · UEI and SAM.gov registration, explained

Apply on the funder's site

Source. https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/business-programs/value-added-producer-grants

"Farmer and Rancher Cooperatives"

Verified on 14 August 2026

Source: www.rd.usda.gov

Similar programmes

Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG)

Status not published

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development

NSF STTR Program

Status not published

U.S. National Science Foundation

Colorado Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant

Opens 2027-01-01

Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)

Chicago Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF)

Open continuously

City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development

DOE SBIR/STTR Program

Status not published

U.S. Department of Energy (Office of Science, SBIR/STTR Programs Office)

Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF)

Status not published

Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)

Paid, separate from Unclaimed

Want a human to review your application?

Involve Consulting can help — a paid expert-review service run by the same person behind Unclaimed, entirely separate from this free check. A flat fee, agreed up front; never a cut of what you receive.

Talk to Involve Consulting