Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries

Loans are administered by AADA. AMPP loan applications are anticipated to open for a second round of acceptance starting April 15. Applicants complete the AMPP Loan Application and provide supporting documents including a USDA Environmental Checklist and an Existing Debt Summary. Contact the program at mpilp@agi.alabama.gov.

Randy Davis

Executive Director

The Alabama Meat Processing Program (AMPP), part of the USDA Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program, is administered by the Alabama Agricultural Development Authority (AADA), which was established in 1980 by the Alabama Legislature to promote agriculture and to finance agricultural businesses in&#x2004;Alabama. AADA's mission for the USDA-AMPP is to boost rural economic development by financing small business owners who are expanding or starting a slaughter or processing facility within Alabama, with the end goal of facilitating the start-up and expansion of small and medium sized slaughter and processing plants. AMPP provides funding to finance the establishment, expansion, or operation of meat and poultry processing facilities. Together with this award, USDA provided $88.6 million to nine nonprofits in seven states.



The Alabama Meat Processing Program (AMPP), part of the USDA Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program, is administered by the Alabama Agricultural Development Authority (AADA), which was established in 1980 by the Alabama Legislature to promote agriculture and to finance agricultural businesses in Alabama. AADA's mission for the USDA-AMPP is to boost rural economic development by financing small business owners who are expanding or starting a slaughter or processing facility within Alabama, with the end goal of facilitating the start-up and expansion of small and medium sized slaughter and processing plants. AMPP provides funding to finance the establishment, expansion, or operation of meat and poultry processing facilities. Together with this award, USDA provided $88.6 million to nine nonprofits in seven states.

Small business owners who are expanding or starting a slaughter or processing facility within Alabama; the program targets small and medium sized slaughter and processing plants, positively impacting everyone within the food supply chain from the farmer to the slaughter and processing facility to the consumer.

A payment that must be returned to the provider following specified terms of repayment and interest rate.

Loan

Rate and term ARE published — in the AMPP Loan Application Packet linked from the program page, not on the page itself. Verbatim: "Loan interest rate is 4%." and "Loan terms are available up to 30 years for real estate and up to 15 years for equipment. The terms available on each request will be determined by AADA considering the request and useful life of the proposed collateral."

Fees: a "Nonrefundable application fee" — "Submit a check payable to 'Alabama Agricultural Development Authority' for $150.00 with your application to cover credit reports" — and at closing, "Borrower must pay a one-time processing fee of ¼ of 1% (.0025) of the loan amount due at the time of loan closing." The "Borrower is responsible for all legal and closing costs associated with the loan."

Underwriting conditions: "Loan covenant requirements are as follows: Minimum Debt Service Coverage of 110%; Debt to Asset Ratio not more than 1:1; Loan to Value will not exceed 80%." Loans must be secured and an appraisal is required; "Principals of the funded entity must furnish personal guarantees"; and hazard and "key man" insurance (if applicable) naming AADA as loss payee is required. Applicants are also asked to name the "Amount of Loan requested," to "describe your preferred schedule of repayment," and to identify the people "authorized to negotiate loan terms and conditions."

Honest-unpublished value: no per-borrower loan ceiling or floor is published anywhere in the program page, the loan packet, or the AADA news releases.

Eligible uses are broad: "Loans can be used to purchase or construct new facilities, expand existing facilities, purchase new equipment, cover start-up costs and hire additional employees." The packet also lists acquisition and development of land, buildings or infrastructure, leasehold improvements, machinery and equipment purchase, debt refinancing, feasibility studies, and pollution control and abatement.

The dollar figures AADA publishes are pool sizes, not per-borrower awards. Alabama's program comes from "a $15 million award from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program (MPILP) to the AADA," and "funds will be allocated until the $15 million is loaned out or the deadline of March 1, 2026, which ever occurs first." Separately, "together with this award, USDA provided $88.6 million to nine nonprofits in seven states."

The AMPP loan program "operates under the USDA-MPILP Regulations."

Annual cycle. FY2026 timeline (per site): February 2026 — ADAI invitation to submit proposals; March 26, 2026 — full grant proposals due to ADAI; May 2026 — ADAI state application submitted to USDA; September 2026 — USDA award announcements. Apply using the Alabama Specialty Crop Application/Project Profile template (requires Adobe). The 2026 proposal deadline has passed; the program reopens annually.

Johnny Blackmon

SCBGP Program Contact

The Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries (ADAI) administers USDA Specialty&#x2004;Crop Block Grant Program funds through an annual competitive process to enhance the competitiveness of Alabama specialty crops. Eligible crops include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, Christmas trees, turf-type grasses, and nursery crops (floriculture/horticulture). Projects must solely enhance the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crops in domestic or foreign markets. Funds may not be used for projects benefiting a single organization/individual, for fixed assets or personal property, for pre-award expenses, or for administrative/indirect costs. [Institutional: grants awarded to organizations/producer groups, not direct payments to individual farms.]



The Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries (ADAI) administers USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funds through an annual competitive process to enhance the competitiveness of Alabama specialty crops. Eligible crops include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, Christmas trees, turf-type grasses, and nursery crops (floriculture/horticulture). Projects must solely enhance the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crops in domestic or foreign markets. Funds may not be used for projects benefiting a single organization/individual, for fixed assets or personal property, for pre-award expenses, or for administrative/indirect costs. [Institutional: grants awarded to organizations/producer groups, not direct payments to individual farms.]

Non-profit organizations, government entities, for-profit organizations, industry trade associations, producer groups, commodity commissions, and public/private colleges and universities that submit projects to enhance the production and competitiveness of Alabama's specialty crop industries.

A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

Certification

Distribution

Diversification

Events

Trade Show

Certified Organic

Trade Relief

Forest Management

Disaster Relief

Emergency

Award range (from the Specialty Crop Grant Guidelines linked on the program page): "This is a competitive grant process. The minimum amount awarded is $5,000.00. The maximum award to commodity groups, agriculture organizations, municipalities and agriculture nonprofits applicants is $25,000; the maximum amount for colleges and universities is $40,000.00."

So the ceiling depends on who you are: $25,000 for commodity groups, ag organizations, municipalities and ag nonprofits; $40,000 for public and private colleges and universities. The floor is $5,000 for everyone.

How you are paid: "[A]wardees will be funded on a reimbursement basis."

Project length: "A project can last up to 34 months, but the proposal must justify its timeline. Projects with shorter time frames are encouraged and will be ranked with higher priority. No extensions of any kind are allowed." Projects scored higher at 12–24 months. Work cannot begin until USDA announces the award.

Match: No cash or in-kind match requirement is published.

What the money cannot cover: projects that directly benefit or profit only a single organization, institution or individual; fixed assets or personal property; capital expenditures for general purpose equipment, buildings and land; expenditures incurred before the award; and administration or indirect costs. Special purpose equipment is allowable as a direct cost, but items with a unit cost of $5,000 or more require prior approval.

Note: total state funding is a USDA formula allocation based on Alabama specialty crop sales, so the pool — and the number of grants — varies year to year.

Complete the Alabama Irrigation Tax Credit Questionnaire and submit it to ADAI - either through the online questionnaire (preferred; no mailing or emailing required) or by downloading the fillable document, completing all applicable fields, and uploading it or emailing it to irrigation@agi.alabama.gov. The deadline to submit the questionnaire is February 27, 2026. A copy of the completed questionnaire must be retained and provided as part of the Alabama Department of Revenue precertification process before the credit is claimed on the tax return.

The Alabama Irrigation Tax Credit is a state income tax credit authorized under Section 40-18-342, Code of Alabama 1975, which allows a credit for certain costs for irrigation equipment, fuel conversions, and reservoirs. Pursuant to Section 40-18-342(f)(1), any agriculture trade or business making qualified costs must file an annual informational report with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) prior to claiming the income tax credit. Only qualified&#x2004;irrigation systems or reservoirs for which the agriculture trade or business has filed an annual information report with ADAI are eligible for the tax credit. An eligible taxpayer may claim one credit for qualifying equipment purchased and installed during tax years 2012 through 2017, one credit for tax years 2018 through 2024, and one credit for tax year 2024 or thereafter. The Alabama Department of Revenue requires completion of a precertification process before the credit can be claimed on a tax return.



The Alabama Irrigation Tax Credit is a state income tax credit authorized under Section 40-18-342, Code of Alabama 1975, which allows a credit for certain costs for irrigation equipment, fuel conversions, and reservoirs. Pursuant to Section 40-18-342(f)(1), any agriculture trade or business making qualified costs must file an annual informational report with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) prior to claiming the income tax credit. Only qualified irrigation systems or reservoirs for which the agriculture trade or business has filed an annual information report with ADAI are eligible for the tax credit. An eligible taxpayer may claim one credit for qualifying equipment purchased and installed during tax years 2012 through 2017, one credit for tax years 2018 through 2024, and one credit for tax year 2024 or thereafter. The Alabama Department of Revenue requires completion of a precertification process before the credit can be claimed on a tax return.

Any agriculture trade or business that makes qualified costs for irrigation equipment, fuel conversions, or reservoirs. To be eligible, the business must file an annual informational report (questionnaire) with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries prior to claiming the credit, and a copy of the questionnaire must be provided as part of the Alabama Department of Revenue precertification process.

A reduction or waiving of fees for meeting a certain criteria.

Discount

HVAC

Lighting

Repairs

Irrigation

Water Quality

Waterway Protection

Wetland Conservation

Water Management

Infrastructure

This is a state income tax credit, not a cash grant — the benefit arrives as a reduction in your Alabama income tax. The Alabama Department of Revenue states: "The tax credit is equal to 20 percent of eligible costs up to a maximum of $10,000. The credit must be taken in the year in which the qualified irrigation equipment or the qualified reservoir is placed in service."

What counts: "For tax years beginning after December 31, 2022, Section 40-18-342, Code of Ala. 1975, provides an income tax credit to an agricultural trade or business for the purchase and installation of qualified irrigation equipment, eligible costs associated with converting irrigation equipment from fuel to electricity, or the construction of a qualified reservoir." So a $50,000 qualifying investment reaches the $10,000 ceiling; spending beyond that earns no additional credit.

How often you can claim it: "The eligible taxpayer may claim one credit for qualifying equipment purchased and installed during tax years 2012 through 2017, one tax credit for qualifying equipment purchased and installed during tax years 2018 through 2024, and one credit for qualifying equipment purchased and installed during tax year 2024 or thereafter."

Two procedural gates stand between you and the credit. First, the annual informational report to the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries: "Only qualified irrigation systems or reservoirs for which the required annual informational report has been filed are eligible for the credit" — the current questionnaire deadline is February 27, 2026. Second, ADOR precertification: an agricultural trade or business "must have an active My Alabama Taxes account and must precertify the credit through My Alabama Taxes before the Qualified Irrigation System/Reservoir System Tax Credit can be used to offset taxes on an income tax return." No match or cost-share applies.

List of Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries Funding Opportunities