BI grants - rcdg discretionary value-added agricultural prod MKT dvlp

Barn Owl Bakery, Inc. received a $250,000 Project Grant from the Rural Business Cooperative Services under the Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) program (CFDA 10.352), awarded on August 27, 2025, with a completion date of August 27, 2027. The funding supports the awardee's value-added agricultural processing and marketing activities, enabling the bakery to develop and expand market opportunities for processed agricultural products derived from raw commodities. The grant will fund day-to-day operating expenses and business development initiatives associated with processing and marketing value-added products, consistent with the program's focus on increasing producer income and creating new market channels.

The VAPG program, administered by Rural Business Cooperative Services, provides competitive funding to agricultural producers and producer-based businesses to support feasibility studies, business planning, and working capital needs for value-added agricultural ventures. Notably, the program restricts funding from being used for agricultural production, construction, real property purchases, or fixed equipment acquisitions, ensuring resources are directed exclusively toward market development and operational sustainability. Barn Owl Bakery's award represents a standard discretionary value-added agricultural product market development initiative within a program that distributes approximately $25 million to $30 million in competitive funding annually across the United States.