Posts Tagged: funding

USDA Funds Available for Value-Added Producers - Application Deadline Is October 15

USDA Rural Development has published the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. The Application deadline is October 15^th, 2012. In this program agricultural producers or producer groups may apply for either a feasibility study grant (maximum $100,000) or a working capital grant ($300,000 maximum).  Eligible activities must be related to the processing and/or marketing of valued-added agricultural products.

There is a matching funds requirement of at least $1 for every $1 in grant funds provided by the Agency (matching funds plus grant funds must equal proposed total project costs.

Grants will be awarded competitively for either planning or working capital projects directly related to the processing and/or marketing of value-added products. Generating new products, creating and expanding marketing opportunities, and increasing producer income are the end goals. Applications that support aspects of regional strategic planning, cooperative development, sustainable farming, and local and regional food systems are encouraged. Proposals must demonstrate economic viability and sustainability in order to compete for funding.

For additional information and application procedures, visit the USDA website.  http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_VAPG.html.  The USDA Rural Development’s VAPG liaison for California is Karen Firestein; her office is in Davis and her contact information is: 530 792-5829, Karen.firestsein@ca.usda.gov.

Collaborative Weed Control

Collaboration between Partners May Be an Effective Way to Fund Wildland Weed Control Projects Many funding sources for weed eradication have been reduced or completely eliminated.  According to the California Assembly Budget Committee's annual Preliminary Review of the Governor's Proposed 2012-13...

Cal Poly announces collabortions with UC ANR

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, issued a news release last week that said four professors in its Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Department are part of nine teams of researchers and educators to receive funding intended to foster collaboration among California’s colleges and universities.

Funding for the nine projects, the release said, "is provided by the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and totals $79,000."

The campuses involved include UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, and CSU campuses at Chico, Fresno, Humboldt, Pomona and San Luis Obispo. Deans and department chairs from those campuses developed the competitive grants program at a joint workshop in 2009.

The news release, written by Stacia Momburg, detailed the projects that involve Cal Poly researchers:

• "Coast Redwood Forest Science Symposium”  - The project team - involving scientists at Cal Poly, SLO, UC Berkeley and Humboldt State - will meet in winter 2011 to assess current knowledge of California’s coast redwood forest ecosystem and sustainable management practices.
  
  
• A Cal Poly professor is working with a UC Davis professor to determine whether obesity is associated with compromised vitamin D status and the effectiveness of a vitamin D supplement.
  
  
• Head of the Cal Poly science department will work with a researcher at UC Davis to analyze genetic marker data to improve cattle breeding efficiency and producer return on investment.
  
  
• A Cal Poly dairy science professor will study nutritional-endocrine interactions that regulate bovine epithelial cell function with the help of a UC Davis professor. The project seeks to better understand bovine mammary gland function to improve milk production.

UC labs get $1 million to study exotic pests

USDA announced last week that UC Davis and UC Berkeley are among 13 research universities across the country that will receive funds to develop ecologically and economically rational strategies for management, control or elimination of weedy or invasive species.

Nearly $500,000 will go to the Davis laboratory and $500,000 to a UC Berkeley laboratory. The 13 university recipients are sharing $4.6 million in all.

"Invasive plants and animals are a major threat to food and fiber production, costing U.S. producers between $7 billion and $27 billion per year, but by doing research on controlling and managing weedy and invasive species we help protect the productivity of America's farmers and ranchers," a USDA news release quotes agriculture secretary Kathleen Merrigan.

The other grant recipients are:

• Auburn University, Auburn, Ala., $494,000
• University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, $494,000
• University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, $149,911
• Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., $124,962
• Idaho State University, Moscow, Idaho, $199,704
• University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., $493,000
• University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., $491,000
• Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., $454,000
• Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, $494,000
• Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, $91,423
• Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., $125,000

Light brown apple moth is an invasive species in California.

USDA to give California $16 million for specialty crops

USDA announced yesterday that it is awarding $49 million for 745 projects to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops; $16 million will go to California. The agency's news release said the USDA defines specialty crops as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.

United States Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced), chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, also issued a release about the award yesterday, saying grants will provide funding for a host of partnerships with UC Davis and UC Merced.

The Cardoza release said California's $16.3 million will fund projects to address such issues as food safety, production research, programs to advance exports, water recharge and pest control.

"This is a great day for California agriculture," the release quoted the congressman. "I could not be more pleased to see the many long hours we spent working on this legislation in Washington producing direct tangible results for California farmers."

US Congressman Dennis Cardoza

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