The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for the Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Value-Added Grant.
Donor Name: Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
State: Minnesota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/17/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
This grant provides funding for value-added businesses (including bioenergy producers and hemp processors) to invest in equipment. The program is intended to increase sales of Minnesota agricultural products by investing in production capacity, market diversification, and market access for value-added products. For the purposes of this grant, value-added is defined as the addition of value to an agricultural product through processing.
This program is intended to increase sales of Minnesota agricultural products by investing in production capacity, market diversification, and market access for value-added products.
Priorities
The scoring criteria of this grant program include priority points for:
- Projects that increase food safety.
- Projects that increase hemp fiber processing capacity.
Funding Information
- Approximately $2.25 million is available between the Value-Added and MPEM programs.
- The maximum award is $150,000 and the minimum award is $1,000. Although applicants may request up to $150,000, applicants should expect that very few, if any, applicants will receive more than $100,000.
Eligible Projects
Eligible projects and expenses Projects must:
- Aim to increase sales of Minnesota agricultural products by increasing production capacity, diversifying markets, or increasing market access for value-added products.
- Be conducted in Minnesota.
- Not start until the grant contract is signed by all parties and has reached its start date.
- Be completed in three years or less. Contracts cannot be extended beyond three years.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must meet the minimum requirements to be considered for this grant opportunity:
- Intend to or be engaged in the processing of Minnesota agricultural products.
- Be an individual (including farmers), business, agricultural cooperative, nonprofit, educational institution, a local unit of government, or Native American Tribal government.
- Be located or reside in Minnesota and be authorized to conduct business in Minnesota.
- Meet the requirements of the Pre-award Risk Assessment.
- Examples of applicants:
- Fruit and vegetable processors, including Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms
- Honey processors
- Renewable energy producers
- Soy processors
- Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies.
For more information, visit MDA.
