[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 42 (Friday, March 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12905-12907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04687]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

[Docket Number: RBS-21-BUSINESS-0003]


Inviting Applications for Value-Added Producer Grants and 
Solicitation of Grant Reviewers

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; amendment.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (Agency) published a 
notice in the Federal Register on December 21, 2020 inviting 
applications for the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. 
Subsequently, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which provides 
$35 million in COVID-19 relief funds, was enacted. Accordingly, a total 
of $76 million in program funding is available. The agency is extending 
the application deadline, increasing available total funding for the 
program; allowing for application submission through email; eliminating 
the awarding of points for the Level of Commitment category specified 
in Section 1(c) of the original notice, and allowing for a reduced cost 
share match of 10 percent of the grant amount for the $35 million in 
COVID-19 relief funds. You should review this notice in its entirety 
for more specific information on changes that have been made to the 
original notice.

DATES: You must submit your application by May 4, 2021 for it to be 
considered for funding. Paper applications must be postmarked and 
mailed, shipped, or sent overnight by this date. You may also email or 
hand carry your application to one of our field offices, but 
applications submitted by this method must be received by 4:30 p.m. 
local time on May 4, 2021. Applications are permitted via https://www.grants.gov/ and must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on 
April 29, 2021. Late applications are not eligible for grant funding 
under this Notice.

ADDRESSES: To submit a paper application, send it to the State Office 
located in the State where your project will primarily take place. You 
can find State Office contact information at http://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/state-offices. To submit an application through email, 
contact your respective State Office before May 4, 2021 to obtain the 
Agency email address where you will submit your application. If you 
want to submit an application through Grants.gov, follow the 
instructions for the VAPG funding announcement on https://www.grants.gov/. Please review the Grants.gov website at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html for instructions 
on the process of registering your organization as soon as possible to 
ensure you are able to meet the Grants.gov application deadline.

[[Page 12906]]

    You should contact your USDA Rural Development State Office if you 
have questions about eligibility or submission requirements. You are 
encouraged to contact your State Office well in advance of the 
application deadline to discuss your project and to ask any questions 
about the application process. Application materials are available at 
http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/value-added-producer-grants.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg York at (202) 281-5289, 
[email protected], or Mike Daniels at (715) 345-7637, 
[email protected], Program Management Division, Rural Business-
Cooperative Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Mail Stop 3226, Room--5801-S, Washington, DC 
20250-3226, 202-720-1400, or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENATARY INFORMATION: Authority:
    The VAPG program is authorized under section 231 of the Agriculture 
Risk Protection Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-224), as amended by section 
10102 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334) (see 
7 U.S.C. 1627c). Applicants must adhere to the requirements contained 
in the program regulation, 7 CFR part 4284, subpart J, which is 
incorporated by reference in this Notice.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the paperwork 
burden associated with this Notice has been approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0570-0064.

Overview

    Federal Agency Name: USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
    Funding Opportunity Title: Value-Added Producer Grant.
    Announcement Type: Notice of Solicitation of Applications and 
Solicitation of Grant Reviewers.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 10.352.
    Dates: Application Deadline. You must submit your application by 
May 4, 2021 for it to be considered for funding. Paper applications 
must be postmarked and mailed, shipped or sent overnight by this date. 
You may also email or hand carry your application to one of our field 
offices, but it must be received by 4:30 p.m. local time on May 4, 
2021. Applications are permitted via https://www.grants.gov/ and must 
be received before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on April 29, 2021. Late 
applications are not eligible for grant funding under this Notice.

I. Background

    The Agency published a Notice in the Federal Register on December 
21, 2020 (85 FR 83038) (the original notice) announcing the 
availability of funding for competitive grants to assist eligible 
agricultural producers in starting or expanding value-added activities 
related to the processing and marketing of new products. The goals of 
this program are to generate new products, create and expand marketing 
opportunities, and increase producer income.
    Under the original notice, applicants had until March 22, 2021 to 
submit a paper application and until March 16, 2021 to submit 
applications through Grants.gov (the new due dates are as specified in 
Section III(4) below). The original solicitation required the applicant 
to provide cost sharing match of at least $1 for every $1 in grant 
funds provided by the Agency.
    The purpose of this Notice is to announce that the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021 (the FY 2021 Appropriations Act), provides an 
additional $35 million in funding for COVID-19 relief and allows for a 
reduced cost-share match of 10 percent of the grant amount (i.e., at 
least $1 from the applicant for every $10 in Agency grant funds) for 
these funds during the public health emergency.

II. General Funding Information

A. Type of Instrument

    Grant. Maximum award amount for Planning Grant is $75,000; maximum 
award amount for Working Capital Grant is $250,000.

B. Available Funds

    There is approximately $76 million in available funding. Of this 
amount, the COVID-19 relief funds constitute $35 million and the other 
$41 million comes from the FY 2021 Appropriations Act and carryover 
funding from fiscal year 2020. The $35 million in COVID-19 relief funds 
may include a reduced cost share match requirement of 10 percent of the 
grant amount. The other available funds have a statutory cost share 
match requirement of 100 percent of the grant amount. Please see 
section III., ``Program Requirements and Changes,'' for additional 
information.

C. Approximate Number of Awards

    The number of awards will depend on the number of eligible 
participants and the total amount of requested funds.

III. Program Requirements and Changes

    To be eligible for an award under this solicitation, applications 
must meet all the requirements contained in the original notice with 
the following exceptions for this amended notice:
    1. Total available funding for FY 2021 is approximately $76 
million.
    2. Your application may include a reduced cost-share match of 10 
percent of grant funds if you are competing for the $35 million in FY 
2021 COVID-19 relief funds. You are not required to demonstrate how 
your business operations were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Relief 
funds will be awarded in application scoring rank order until 
exhausted. If your application for COVID-19 relief funds is not 
selected for funding through the competitive process, you will have the 
opportunity to compete for the additional $41 million in funds if your 
application scores 50 points or above. You will be contacted by the 
Agency and will be required to submit a revised budget and work plan 
that includes the standard cost-share match of at least $1 for every $1 
in grant funds. Applicants unable to meet the standard cost-share match 
will be ineligible to compete for the additional funding.
    3. For the FY 2021 VAPG cycle, the Level of Commitment assignment 
of points for in-kind and cash match contributions will be eliminated 
from Commitments and Support scoring criterion (c).
    Points for Commitments and Support will be redistributed as 
follows:
    (i) 0 points will be awarded if you do not address the criterion.
    (ii) Independent Producer Commitment:
    (A) Sole Proprietor (one owner/producer): 1 point.
    (B) Multiple Independent Producers (note: in cases where family 
members, such as husband and wife, are eligible Independent Producers, 
each family member will count as one Independent Producer): 2 points.
    (iii) End-user commitment:
    (A) No or insufficiently documented commitment from end-users: 0 
points.
    (B) Well-documented commitment from one end-user: 2 points.
    (C) Well-documented commitment from more than one end-user: 4 
points.
    (iv) Third-party commitment:
    (A) No, or insufficiently documented, commitment from third-
parties: 0 points.
    (B) Well-documented commitment from one third-party: 2 points.
    (C) Well-documented commitment from more than one third-party: 4 
points.
    4. You must submit your application by May 4, 2021 for it to be 
considered for funding. Paper applications must be postmarked and 
mailed, shipped or sent overnight by this date. You may also

[[Page 12907]]

email or hand carry your application to one of our field offices, but 
it must be received by 4:30 p.m. local time on May 4, 2021. 
Applications are permitted via https://www.grants.gov/ and must be 
received before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on April 29, 2021. Late 
applications are not eligible for grant funding under this Notice.
    5. If you are interested in serving as a non-federal independent 
grant reviewer, please send a resume addressing relevant qualifications 
and experience to [email protected] by April 5, 2021.
    Program information and revised application templates can also be 
found at https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/value-added-producer-grants.

Mark Brodziski,
Acting Administrator, Rural Business--Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-04687 Filed 3-4-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P