Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Maryland Agriculture and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO)

Applicants must verify in their application that commercial lender or Farm Service Agency loan proceeds are available to help complete the proposed farming project. Applicants that are awarded grants may not materially deviate from their approved business plans without approval from MARBIDCO and the participating commercial lender.

Mail completed applications to:

MARBIDCO Programs
1410 Forest Dr., Suite 21
Annapolis, MD 21403

Maryland Agriculture & Resource-Based Industry Development Company

Obtaining financing is difficult for most farmers, but particularly for urban farmers. A very small amount of equity capital can make a significant difference in helping these business owners to obtain bank financing (commercial loans).


MARBIDCO’s MUACLIG program addresses the finance needs of urban farmers. With the support of Farm Credit, MARBIDCO provides grant funds to incentivize the urban farmer to try to obtain commercial financing.



Obtaining financing is difficult for most farmers, but particularly for urban farmers. A very small amount of equity capital can make a significant difference in helping these business owners to obtain bank financing (commercial loans).

MARBIDCO’s MUACLIG program addresses the finance needs of urban farmers. With the support of Farm Credit, MARBIDCO provides grant funds to incentivize the urban farmer to try to obtain commercial financing.

Applicants must be qualified Beginning Urban Farmers, which are defined as being farmers (either individuals or incorporated businesses) with the principal operator(s) having:
- Limited personal or business financial resources;
- A food/fiber growing operation located in an urban community (i.e., must be geographically located within an incorporated municipality, or within the Baltimore or Washington beltways including the City of Baltimore);
- Ten or fewer years of commercial farming experience – either in a for-profit or not-for-profit setting; and
- No previous commercial agriculture loan history.

Eligible business activities include the purchase of:
- Agricultural inputs and supplies such as seed, fertilizer, compost, and baskets;
- Farm tools and equipment;
- Greenhouses, high tunnels, refrigeration, and irrigation systems; and
- Hired labor (at no more than 20% of the total eligible project cost).


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

Grant

Cash Rent

Business Plan

Refinancing

Transition

Feed

Seed

Pest Management

Fertilizer

Weeds

Waste & Manure Management

HVAC

Lighting

Repairs

Training

Succession

Inputs

Nutrient Management

Facilities

Conservation

Water Management

Maximum Grant Amount: $10,000, calculated at no more than 20% of the project’s total cost and no more than 25% of the amount of the approved commercial loan for the project. (The minimum grant amount is $1,000 – with a commercial loan of $4,000, combines for a $5,000 project).

To apply, mail your completed application to 
MARBIDCO Programs
1410 Forest Drive, Suite 21
Annapolis, MD 21403

Basic application requirements:
- Completed application form (please do not send binders)
- Evidence of matching funds
- Tax returns (including all Schedules for most recent past year)
- Detailed business plan 
- Agree to site inspection prior to final approval
- If awarded must also agree to site inspections during construction phase of project


Once per year, MARBIDCO offers grants of between $2,500 and $10,000 distributed on a competitive basis for value added processing capital asset projects. Eligible applicants must be a crop or livestock producer or processor, agricultural cooperative, seafood processor, or primary or secondary timber products processor, and have been in business for a minimum of two years. In addition, applicants must be making a product that is “value added.”


Maryland Value Added Producer Grant – Capital Assets Option (MVAPG–CAO) program is designed to encourage farms and other rural businesses wanting to expand or diversify their operations through value added processing to purchase equipment or construct facilities.



Once per year, MARBIDCO offers grants of between $2,500 and $10,000 distributed on a competitive basis for value added processing capital asset projects. Eligible applicants must be a crop or livestock producer or processor, agricultural cooperative, seafood processor, or primary or secondary timber products processor, and have been in business for a minimum of two years. In addition, applicants must be making a product that is “value added.”

Maryland Value Added Producer Grant – Capital Assets Option (MVAPG–CAO) program is designed to encourage farms and other rural businesses wanting to expand or diversify their operations through value added processing to purchase equipment or construct facilities.

Eligible applicants must be a crop or livestock producer or processor, agricultural cooperative, seafood processor, or primary or secondary timber products processor, and have been in business for a minimum of two years.

In addition, applicants must be making a product that is “value added.” A product that is value added has in incremental value realized by the producer as a result of:
1. Change in physical state;
2. Differentiated production or marketing;
3. Product segregation; or
4. Economic benefit realized from the production of farm- or ranch-based renewable energy.

Eligible Expenses:

Eligible expenses are capital assets which will help farmers, forest product operations and seafood processors to expand or diversify their business operations. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Production buildings and major fixtures
- Livestock or seafood processing facilities
- Fruit, vegetable or timber processing facilities
- Creamery production equipment
- Manure digesters
- Optimization systems for maximizing fiber yield recovery
- Dry kilns, shavings mills, sawdust dryers and in-woods chippers

Ineligible expenses are those not specifically stated under eligible expenses, such as, but not limited to, the following:
- Any expense incurred prior to Thursday, September 26, 2019.
- Tractors, combines, sprayers or similar common farm implements and attachments thereto
- Any self-propelled vehicles (except certain vehicles used in timber processing)
- Property acquisition costs
- Mortgage refinancing
- Cost of borrowing (e.g., points and other fees)
- Site plan and construction permits
- Wages paid to applicant or employees, or applicant or employee training costs
- Solar or wind energy projects
- Furnishings, fixtures or equipment considered personal (non-business) property
- Machine storage, ancillary workshops, housing, classrooms, etc.
- Any portion of expense for which the applicant pays a contractor in merchandise or service in lieu of cash
- Attorney’s fees and consultants’ fees
- Fees and/or costs not consistent with eligible costs

Assemble your application materials:
- A completed MARBIDCO application.
- Copy of your complete USDA Value-Added Producer Grant application.
- Business plan for the project to receive financing (required for Working Capital applications).
- Feasibility study (required for some Working Capital applications).

Submit your completed application packet by mail to:
MARBIDCO
1410 Forest Drive
Suite 21
Annapolis MD 21403

All MVAPMG applicants meeting the MARBIDCO requirements will receive a commitment letter of matching funds to be included with their federal applications. The MVAPMG commitment amount cannot exceed 15% of the required non-federal match, and it may be for a lesser amount depending on the quantity of MVAPMG applications that are received and the size of the pool of available MARBIDCO funds.

Maryland Value Added Producer Matching Grant (MVAPMG – USDA Option) is designed to encourage participation in USDA's highly competitive [Value Added Producer Grant Program](https://ambrook.com/funding/vapg) (which has both planning and working capital components). The USDA VAPG does not award funding for capital equipment purchases, however, Maryland farmers may opt to seek funding for such purchases through MARBIDCO's [Value Added Producer Grant - Capital Assets Option](https://ambrook.com/funding/mvapg-cao) program.


The USDA Value Added Producer Grant Program, is offered annually and requires a non-federal financial matching commitment and each application for the MVAPMG must include a “verification of matching funds."



Maryland Value Added Producer Matching Grant (MVAPMG – USDA Option) is designed to encourage participation in USDA's highly competitive Value Added Producer Grant Program (which has both planning and working capital components). The USDA VAPG does not award funding for capital equipment purchases, however, Maryland farmers may opt to seek funding for such purchases through MARBIDCO's Value Added Producer Grant - Capital Assets Option program.

The USDA Value Added Producer Grant Program, is offered annually and requires a non-federal financial matching commitment and each application for the MVAPMG must include a “verification of matching funds."

Eligible applicants must be an independent producer, agricultural producer group, farmer or ranch cooperative, or majority-controlled producer-based business venture (all defined terms under federal regulations) who apply for a USDA Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG). 
In addition, applicants must be making a product that is “value-added.” A product that is value-added has in incremental value realized by the producer as a result of: 
1. change in physical state; 
2. differentiated production or marketing; 
3. product segregation; and 
4. economic benefit realized from the production of farm-or ranch-based renewable energy.

A payment that requires some percentage of matching contributions by the recipient.

Cost Share

Events

Certification

Diversification

Distribution

Certified Organic

Trade Relief

The grant amount has been set at up to 15% of the of the matching funds required under the USDA VAPG (with a maximum of $75,000 for planning grants and $250,000 for working capital grants).

List of Maryland Agriculture and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) Funding Opportunities

Maryland Urban Agriculture Commercial Lending Incentive Grant (MUACLIG)

Maryland Value Added Producer Grant - Capital Assets Option (MVAPG-CAO)

Maryland Value Added Producer Matching Grant (MVAPMG)