Browse Ambrook’s collection of grants, loans, discounts, cost shares, easements, and insurance for produce processing.

Borrowers should talk to their preferred lender to determine if the lender is approved through the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative. If you have no preferred lender, contact your local RD office at the details above for assistance with identifying a participating lender.

The Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program is a part of USDA’s Build Back Better initiative to strengthen&#x2004;critical supply chains and our food system. This program guarantees loans of up to $40 million for qualified lenders to finance food systems projects, specifically for the start-up or expansion of activities in the middle of the food supply chain. The program will support new investments in infrastructure for food aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transportation, wholesaling, and distribution to increase capacity and create a more resilient, diverse, and secure U.S. food supply chain. This program is fully funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.



The Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program is a part of USDA’s Build Back Better initiative to strengthen critical supply chains and our food system. This program guarantees loans of up to $40 million for qualified lenders to finance food systems projects, specifically for the start-up or expansion of activities in the middle of the food supply chain. The program will support new investments in infrastructure for food aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transportation, wholesaling, and distribution to increase capacity and create a more resilient, diverse, and secure U.S. food supply chain. This program is fully funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Eligible borrowers must be directly engaged in the middle of the food supply chain, specifically the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of food. Examples of the types of entities that may qualify for the program include a meat processor or a food hub. As a borrower, your lender will work with you to verify your project qualifies.

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

Loan

- Fact Sheet
- Federal Register Notice
- Frequently Asked Questions

Public Health

Compliance

Infrastructure

Loans can not be used for
- Lines of credit
- Owner-occupied and rental housing
- Golf courses or golf course supporting infrastructure
- Racetracks or gambling facilities
- Churches or church-controlled organizations
- Fraternal organizations
- Lending, investment, and insurance companies
- Agricultural production
- Distribution or payment to a beneficiary of the borrower, or to an individual or entity that will retain an ownership interest in the borrower

Review the Draft Application to prepare for submission. When you are ready, complete your application at this portal.

You will be required to upload these documents during the application process:
- Project Template (download during application)
- W-9 (Downloadable below)
- A DUNS Number (Look yours up or get one for free here)

The AIIP will provide critical funding for Maine farms and agricultural food processors pursuing infrastructure upgrades that will mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19, increase capacity, enhance supply chain resilience, address market disruptions, and drive growth within the Maine agricultural and food economy while providing more locally-available&#x2004;foods to Mainers.

This funding will help farms and processors who source from Maine’s agricultural producers acquire the equipment and assets necessary to grow capacity in a manner that meets the markedly increased demand for Maine grown and produced products as well as the new operational requirements resulting from pandemic conditions.

The two primary goals of the AIIP are as follows:

1. To provide an injection of critical funding for Maine farms and agricultural food processing businesses that have faced and continue to face market disruptions, supply chain issues, and workforce challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health response. Specifically, this funding will support projects that allow farms and businesses to increase production and processing capacity by investing in infrastructure and equipment; and

2. To make investments in Maine agricultural processors that aid transitions to address new market dynamics and enable long-term sustainability in the sector.




The AIIP will provide critical funding for Maine farms and agricultural food processors pursuing infrastructure upgrades that will mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19, increase capacity, enhance supply chain resilience, address market disruptions, and drive growth within the Maine agricultural and food economy while providing more locally-available foods to Mainers.
This funding will help farms and processors who source from Maine’s agricultural producers acquire the equipment and assets necessary to grow capacity in a manner that meets the markedly increased demand for Maine grown and produced products as well as the new operational requirements resulting from pandemic conditions.
The two primary goals of the AIIP are as follows:
1. To provide an injection of critical funding for Maine farms and agricultural food processing businesses that have faced and continue to face market disruptions, supply chain issues, and workforce challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health response. Specifically, this funding will support projects that allow farms and businesses to increase production and processing capacity by investing in infrastructure and equipment; and
2. To make investments in Maine agricultural processors that aid transitions to address new market dynamics and enable long-term sustainability in the sector.


To be eligible for this funding opportunity, applicants must:
- Be a farm or agricultural business or organization with fewer than 200 employees;
- Be located in Maine;
- Be current and in good standing with all Maine State payroll taxes, sales taxes, and state income taxes (as applicable);
- Not be in bankruptcy; and
- Not have permanently ceased all operations.

Eligible Activities and Expenses:
- Capital improvements to expand capacity (including expansion and modifications to existing buildings and/or construction of new buildings at existing or newly acquired sites) for the purpose of processing, aggregating, storing, and value-adding Maine agricultural products.
- Upgrades to utilities (including water, electric, heat, refrigeration, freezing, and waste facilities).
- Livestock intake and storage equipment.
- Growing, processing, manufacturing, and storage equipment and construction.
- Packaging and handling equipment (including sealing, bagging, boxing, labeling, conveying, and product moving equipment).
- Additional warehouse equipment (including storage and drying/curing racks).
- Purchase of waste treatment/management equipment (including tanks, blowers, separators, dryers, digesters, and equipment that uses waste to produce energy, fuel, or industrial products).
- Facility reconfiguration (including labor and materials for changes necessary to meet social distancing guidelines).
- Technology that allows increased capacity (to meet unanticipated demand) or business resilience (including software and hardware related to business functions, logistics, inventory management, plant production controls, temperature monitoring controls)
- Consulting, and Technical Assistance (TA), including market research and feasibility studies, engineering and construction planning, land use planning, facility design and configuration planning, and other services that directly support future implementation of infrastructure-related capacity-building projects.
- Leasehold improvements to rented buildings or facilities.


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

Grant

- AIIP Overview & Application
- AIIP Guidelines & Eligibility
- AIIP FAQs
- Draft Application

Coronavirus

Fencing

Trade Relief

Trees

Weather

Wildfire

Certification

Distribution

Diversification

Events

Trade Show

Drought

Flood

Hurricane

Tornado

Certified Organic

Emergency

Marketing

Priority will be given to applications that satisfy any combination of the following:
- Process products intended for human consumption;
- Source from multiple Maine farms;
- Source more than 50% of product inputs from Maine;
- Provide inputs for multiple down-stream food producers;
- Support other Maine agricultural businesses by sharing processing infrastructure.


Application

The Council may make a grant or loan if it determines a project is consistent with the goals of the Growth Through Agriculture Act. Projects should primarily add value to Montana's agricultural products and have the potential to create and/or retain jobs in Montana.

BEFORE beginning the application process, the applicant should be able to document exactly how the project will expand Montana agriculture. For example, the growth could be measurable either in terms of increased sales (by dollar amount or percentage) or in number of jobs created.

The Council strongly urges applicants to contact the Food and Agricultural Development Center network, Small Business Development Center network, and their local economic development organization for assistance with their GTA application, financial projections, business and marketing plans as necessary. I n addition, the Department is offering the use of this one-page financials template for interested businesses that have been invited to apply and present for the main GTA program: found here

Projects may potentially be funded in a single application for a maximum total amount of $150,000 in the form of grant funding up to $50,000 and loan funding up to $100,000. Examples of project activities involve equipment purchases, advertising and promotion, and consultant services such as engineering costs. A $1 for $1 match is required for all proposals.

FY2024 Priority Areas
- Rural area food and ag businesses
    - Rural area is defined as an area with fewer than 10,000 people (USDA Rural Definitions link: click here)
- Investing in processing infrastructure to add value to Montana crops and commodities
- Businesses focusing on vertical integration (i.e. raw commodity to finished/packaged product)

Targeted Area for Loan Funding
The Council designated the following areas to be eligible for consideration for 0% interest rate loans:
- Applicant likely does not have access to a conventional loan, such as a startup, or
- Business is mature and working toward expansion.

Important Dates
- October 2, 2023 - GTA Pre-application opens
- October 23, 2023 - Pre-application deadline
- Mid-November, 2023 - Ag Development Council meeting to select pre-applicants for full application submission
- Late November - Full application will open
- January 8, 2024 - Full applications due
- Mid-February - Ag Development Council meeting to review/award GTA applications

Apply Online
Instructions for Completing a GTA Application:
- Read the GTA Program Guidelines in order to determine whether or not your project is eligible and learn more about the details of the program to begin the GTA application process.
    - GTA Program Guidelines (.pdf format)
- Contact the Food and Agriculture Development Center Network, Small Business Development Center network, and your local economic development organization to discuss your project and request assistance in applying for your Growth Through Agriculture grant or loan.
- Register with the Montana Secretary of State . If your company is not already registered with the Montana Secretary of State, you may need to do so before going further with the application process. Organizations other than Sole Proprietorships must be registered with the Montana Secretary of State prior to submittal of the GTA application. Any application from an organization that is not registered with the Montana Secretary of State will not be accepted.
- Register and Apply Online: Growth Through Agriculture (GTA) applications open on October 2nd. Register and apply here.
- If you have questions, email gta@mt.gov.

 Food and Agriculture Development Center

Montana Small Business Development Center

MT Growth Through Agricultural Program

The Growth Through Agriculture (GTA) program is a grant and loan program established by the Montana Legislature to strengthen and diversify Montana's agricultural industry through the development of new agricultural products and processes. Examples of eligible project activities involve equipment purchases, construction costs, advertising and promotion, and consultant services for engineering. The GTA program is administered by the Agriculture Development Council (Council) which is attached to the Department of Agriculture.



Eligibility Criteria 
Projects should primarily add value to Montana’s agricultural products, have prospects for achieving commercial success given the current personnel, experience and resources of the applicant and have the possibility to create and/or retain jobs in Montana. In addition, projects should either benefit additional agricultural producers and/or companies, and/or projects should accomplish research that will benefit Montana’s agriculture industry as a whole. An applicant that receives any two GTA grants within a two-year period will have a one-year cooling off period before applying again, starting in the current calendar year. Please contact GTA staff for any questions on this recent adjustment. 

Eligible Costs 
Eligible costs under the GTA program include, but are not limited to: 
• Equipment 
• Consultant Services (professional, technical, operational) 
• Travel 
• Advertising and Promotion 
• Supplies and Materials 
• Communication (telephone, postage, printing, etc.) 
• Data Processing 

Who Can Apply 
Proposals for funding are accepted from: 
• Individuals 
• Businesses and Industry Organizations 
• Public and Private Agencies and Organizations 
• Educational Institutions 
• Local Governments 
• Cooperatives 
• Non-profits 

Business Registration Required 
To be eligible to receive funding your business must be registered with the Montana Secretary of State's office (www.sos.mt.gov). If your business is not registered, we encourage you to begin that process prior to submitting an application. 

Joint Applications 
Two or more individuals or organizations may propose to conduct a project jointly by submitting one application as co-applicants. Please contact program staff for procedures if you are interested in submitting a joint application. 

Joint applicants must demonstrate their team has proven ability to carry out all elements of the proposed project. In addition, applicants proposing to rely upon the expertise of another individual or organization to undertake any part of the project must clearly define the responsibilities of that party as well as provide evidence of that entity’s willingness and demonstrated ability to undertake that area of responsibility.

Additional Loan Eligibility Requirements 
The Council has the option to set loan interest rates and offer terms on awards up to $100,000. To be eligible for a low interest loan, the applicant must have unencumbered collateral to secure the full amount of the loan. 

The Council may select up to two targeted areas for projects which would be eligible for lower interest loans. These targeted areas encourage specific types of projects and will inform the public of the Council’s particular interests. Targeted areas must be announced 60 days prior to becoming effective. 

List of Agricultural Funding for Produce Processing