Content-Type: text/html EVENTS & GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 12. Healthy Lives Symposium, May 24 Lansing Community College Attached please find information regarding the Capitol Area Health Alliance-Healthy Lifestyle Symposium scheduled for Thursday, May 24, 2007 at Lansing Community College. This should be an excellent opportunity to share your ideas regarding concrete steps that the tri-county area can take to encourage establishing a culture supportive of the pursuit and maintenance of healthy lifestyles for people who live in our communities. I hope at least some of you will be able to attend this important dialogue. Please feel free to share this brochure widely with other health promotion colleagues across campus and in the community. This is a free, one-day workshop but you must register to attend. You can fax, email or mail your registration that is enclosed in following link. Please see this link for the full schedule of sessions being offered. http://www.re-news.net/mocth/up/Healthy_Lifestyles_Symposium.pdf 13. Value Added Producer Grant Applications Due May 17 Helping farm producers move into value-added agricultural enterprises The window for submitting applications for the Value-Added Producer Grant is now open. Please visit the link below for more details. Farmers' who are seeking an opportunity to create a new value added product and are interested in writing a grant to fund this endeavor may wish to visit the USDA web site and check out this opportunity. Formerly known as the Value-Added Development Grants Program, the Value-Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG) is a competitive grants program administered by the Rural Business Cooperative Service at USDA. Some examples of previous funded projects are: The definition of a value-added product includes: * A change in the physical form of the product, such as milling wheat into flour or strawberries into jam * Producing a product in a way that enhances its value, such as "organic," "free-range," "grass-fed," etc. * Physically segregating an agricultural commodity or product in a manner that results in the enhancement of the value of the agricultural product, such as the identity preserved marketing systems. The definition of value-added product includes any agricultural product or commodity used to produce renewable energy on a farm or ranch. Project Examples * A grant of $64,500 was awarded to the Arizona Pistachio Association to conduct a feasibility study and prepare a business plan to develop a processing facility and direct marketing strategy for Arizona 's pistachio production. * The California Wild Rice Growers Association was awarded $130,000 for working capital to develop, package, evaluate, and market soy-enhanced wild rice snack chips. * Three farmers in Fort Pierce , FL , were awarded $15,000 to expand the marketing of their "certified organic" products. * $149,000 was granted to Ag Ventures Alliance Cooperative in Iowa to study the feasibility of an aquaculture business that will add value to the grain produced by its farmer owners. * A grant of $108,000 was awarded to Maine Sustainable Agriculture Society for working capital for the operational costs of linking central Maine institutions with local agricultural producers to tap the emerging market for locally grown, organic and conventional foods. * $249,830 was granted to Chesapeake Fields Farmers in Maryland to complete a feasibility study and business plan for a value-added venture to process small grains and eventually operate a bakery. * The United Cooperative Farmers in Massachusetts was awarded $50,000 to complete a feasibility study and marketing and business plan to create a new, fully traceable, dedicated organic feed manufacturing venture. * $75,605 was awarded to the Midwest Nut Producers Council in Michigan to assess the feasibility of marketing products produced from small and broken peeled chestnuts. * Harvest Land Cooperative in Minnesota was granted $148,000 to assist in the development of on-farm renewable energy generation using wind. * A grant of $323,837 was given to Amazing Grains Cooperative in Montana for working capital to expand processing capacity and markets for a value-added gluten-free Indian ricegrass product. * Dakota Renewable Fuels in North Dakota was awarded $167,500 to complete a business plan, complete offering documents, conduct an equity drive and complete other activities needed to develop a 30-million gallon dry-mill ethanol plant. Application and Financial Information The most recent information on funding availability and applications is available through each state's USDA Rural Development Office. A list of every state office is printed at www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadgstateoffice.html . When applying for a grant, applicants must choose between two different types of activities for funding: * Developing feasibility studies or business plans, which include marketing plans * Working capital to operate a value-added business or alliance. Applicants are eligible to apply for only one of these two types of grants each grant cycle The maximum grant award is $500,000, but smaller grants have priority. The request for proposal (RFP) includes a list of evaluation criteria that are used to score applications for strength and merit. Reviewers award points to each application based on how well the applicant has addressed the requirements spelled out in the evaluation criteria. The program requires a one-to-one match. A cash match is defined as actual funds dedicated to the project. An in-kind match includes time, equipment, space, staff salaries, etc. Applicants are advised to contact their State USDA Rural Development Office to discuss a proposed project and ask for information about the VAPG program. Completed applications are submitted to that state USDA office for review. Prospective applicants should also be in touch with the marketing divisions of their state Departments of Agriculture, many of which offer workshops on how best to apply for the program. Such workshops can provide information, applications, and guidance on when and how to apply for a grant. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo .gov/2007/E7-7110.htm 14. SARE (Sustainable Ag Research and Extension) Grants Farmer/Rancher Grant Due apx Dec 1, 2007 1) North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Farmer Rancher Grant Program (NCR SARE FRGP). You can find a description of that program at http://ncr.sare.org/prod.htm Typically the call for proposals is issued around Labor Day each year and the proposals are due just after Thanksgiving. The grants in this program are to support farmer research and/or education that helps farms enhance their sustainability. You will see examples on line. . Does the proposal identify a problem and have a specific innovative plan for solving it? Here are some questions to ask about your idea and proposal for this grant. 1. How well does the proposal make use of existing knowledge of the identified problem(s)? On a scale from 1 (little use) to 5 (high use), how would you rate the proposal? 2. Outcome: How well does the proposal evaluate economic, environmental, and social impacts of the project? On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), how would you rate the proposal? 3. Is the budget appropriate for the work to be done (expenses are for project work), and affordable for other producers? You do not need to scrutinize the budget for items that can and cannot be funded since University accountants will do that. We can correct budget errors, so do not disqualify people for errors like asking for more than the grant allows. Please look only at overall appropriateness. On a scale from 1 (not appropriate) to 5 (appropriate), how would you rate the proposal? 4. Outreach: Does the proposal include a plan to share information with others (via workshops, field days, meetings, publications, etc.)? Does it include cooperation with farmers, ranchers, or organizations that can help with outreach? On a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high), how would you rate the proposal? 5. Will the proposal make a meaningful contribution toward advancing sustainable agriculture? On a scale of 1 (none) to 5 (abundant), how would you rate the proposal? Vicki Morrone Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist Michigan State University C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems 303 Natural Resources Bldg. East Lansing, MI 48824 517-353-3542 517-282-3557 (cell) 517-353-3834 (fax) http://www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu/ http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/ If you would like to access previous postings to the Mich-Organic listserv you can copy and paste the following URL into your browser address bar http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich-organic.html