11396 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 1, 2022 / Notices 

1https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/ 

downloads/fed-order-suspend-swine-from-pr-vi.pdf. 2https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/ 

animal_health/fo-asf-signed.pdf. 

byproducts, contact Dr. Dawn Hunter, 

Staff Trade Policy Advisor, Strategy and 

Policy, VS APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 

39, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851– 

3333; Dawn.K.Hunter@usda.gov. For 

information on the information 

collection process, contact Mr. Joseph 

Moxey, APHIS’ Paperwork Reduction 

Act Coordinator, at (301) 851–2483; 

joseph.moxey@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Control of African Swine Fever; 

Restrictions on the Movement of Swine 

Products and Swine Byproducts From 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

OMB Control Number: 0579–0480. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

approval of an information collection. 

Abstract: Under the Animal Health 

Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.), 

the Secretary of the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is authorized to 

protect the health of the livestock, 

poultry, and aquaculture populations in 

the United States by preventing the 

introduction and interstate spread of 

serious diseases and pests of livestock, 

poultry, and aquaculture, and for 

eradicating such diseases and pests from 

the United States, when feasible. Within 

the USDA, this authority and mission is 

delegated to the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS). 

Within APHIS, Veterinary Services 

(VS) is tasked with, among other things, 

preventing foreign animal disease 

outbreaks in the United States, and 

monitoring, controlling, and eliminating 

a disease outbreak should one occur. In 

the past several years, there have been 

significant worldwide outbreaks of 

African swine fever (ASF). ASF is a 

highly contagious and deadly viral 

disease affecting domestic and feral 

(wild) pigs. The disease has not been 

detected in the United States; however, 

APHIS is committed to working with 

State and industry partners to keep the 

disease out of the country. 

The Dominican Republic is currently 

reporting a significant outbreak of ASF. 

While ASF is not known to occur in 

Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, 

they are in proximity to the Dominican 

Republic. Frequent passenger travel and 

international mail shipments occur 

between the Dominican Republic and 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, 

as well as frequent small-scale 

commercial agricultural trade. Thus, 

APHIS identified several pathways for 

the possible introduction of ASF from 

the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico 

or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Moreover, 

there are known commercial and feral 

pig populations in both territories, and 

there were no restrictions on the 

interstate movement of live swine, 

swine germplasm, swine products, and 

swine byproducts from Puerto Rico or 

the U.S. Virgin Islands into the 

continental United States. Accordingly, 

APHIS suspended interstate movement 

of live swine, swine germplasm, and 

processed swine products and 

byproducts through issuance of a 

Federal Order (DA–2021–0002) 1 on 

September 17, 2021. In situations where 

a disease risk is sufficiently severe and 

fast-moving so that the regular 

regulatory process cannot provide 

adequate relief, APHIS employs Federal 

Orders to set trade restrictions quickly 

to control, eradicate, or prevent a 

disease threat. 

Since the issuance of the Federal 

Order, APHIS has established sufficient 

mitigations to allow the movement of 

certain swine products and swine 

byproducts under specified conditions 

that mitigate the risk of spreading ASF 

through interstate commerce. As a 

result, on December 2, 2021, APHIS 

issued a Federal Order (DA–2021– 

0003) 2 to allow interstate movement of 

certain swine products and byproducts 

from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands under certain conditions. To 

certify compliance with this Federal 

Order and restriction guidelines for the 

intestate movement of swine products 

and byproducts from Puerto Rico and 

the U.S. Virgin Islands, commercial 

producers must meet the requirements 

as listed in the Federal Order or 

complete a VS Form 16–3, an 

application for a permit to import or 

transport controlled material or 

organisms or vectors. 

We are asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve our use of these information 

collection activities, as described, for an 

additional 3 years. 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

comments from the public (as well as 

affected agencies) concerning our 

information collection. These comments 

will help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, through use, as 

appropriate, of automated, electronic, 

mechanical, and other collection 

technologies; e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses. 

Estimate of burden: The public 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 1.5 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Commercial producers 

of swine products and byproducts and 

State animal health officials. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 22. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 2. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 40. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 60 hours. (Due to 

averaging, the total annual burden hours 

may not equal the product of the annual 

number of responses multiplied by the 

reporting burden per response.) 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of 

February 2022. 

Anthony Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04207 Filed 2–28–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

[Docket No. RBS–21–BUSINESS–0037] 

Inviting Applications for Value-Added 

Producer Grants 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This Notice announces that 

the Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

(Agency) is accepting applications for 

the Value-Added Producer Grant 

(VAPG) program. Approximately $17 

million is currently available in Fiscal 

Year (FY) 2022 along with about $2.75 

million in COVID–19 relief funds 

carried over from the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021 (the FY 2021 

Appropriations Act) for a total of $19.75 

million in funding. The Agency may 

also utilize any funding that becomes 

available through enactment of the FY 

2022 appropriations. The Agency will 

publish the program funding level on 

the Rural Development website, https:// 

www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/federalfunding-opportunities. The COVID–19 

relief funds allow for a reduced costVerDate Sep<11>2014 19:01 Feb 28, 2022 Jkt 256001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\01MRN1.SGM 01MRN1

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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. In the event the 

public health emergency ends, 

applicants would have to meet the 

VAPG program statutory match of 100 

percent of the grant for these funds. You 

are not required to demonstrate how 

your business operations were impacted 

by the COVID–19 pandemic. 

DATES: You must submit your complete 

paper application by May 2, 2022 or it 

will not 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 close of business on the deadline 

date. 

Electronic applications are permitted 

via https://www.grants.gov only and 

must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern 

time on April 25, 2022. 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 2, 2022 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. 

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/programsservices/value-added-producer-grants. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mike Daniels at 715–345–7637, 

mike.daniels@usda.gov or Greg York at 

202–281–5259 gregory.york@usda.gov, 

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. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview 

Federal Agency Name: Rural 

Business-Cooperative Service. 

Funding Opportunity Title: ValueAdded Producer Grant. 

Announcement Type: Notice of 

Solicitation of Applications (NOSA). 

Assistance Listing Number: 10.352. 

Funding Opportunity Number 

(grants.gov): RDBCP–VAPG–2022. 

Dates: Application Deadline. You 

must submit your complete paper 

application by May 2, 2022, or it will 

not be considered for funding. You may 

also hand carry or email your 

application to one of our field offices, 

but it must be received by close of 

business on May 2, 2022. Electronic 

applications must be received by http:// 

www.grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. 

Eastern time on April 25, 2022, or it will 

not be considered for funding. 

Administrative: The following apply 

to this NOSA: 

(a) Key Priorities: The Agency 

encourages applicants to consider 

projects that will advance the following: 

• Assisting Rural communities 

recover economically from the impacts 

of the COVID–19 pandemic, particularly 

disadvantaged communities; 

• Ensuring all rural residents have 

equitable access to RD programs and 

benefits from RD funded projects; and 

• Reducing climate pollution and 

increasing resilience to the impacts of 

climate change through economic 

support to rural communities. 

(b) Hemp Projects. In determining 

eligibility for the applicant, project or 

use of funds, any project applying for 

funding under the Value-Added 

Producer Grant program and proposing 

to produce, procure, supply or market 

any component of the hemp plant or 

hemp related by-products, must have a 

valid license from an approved State, 

Tribal or Federal plan pursuant to 

Section 10113 of the 2018 Farm Bill, be 

in compliance with regulations 

published by the Agricultural Marketing 

Service at 7 CFR part 990, and meet any 

applicable U.S. Food and Drug 

Administration and U.S. Drug 

Enforcement Administration regulatory 

requirements. Verification of valid 

hemp licenses will occur prior to award. 

(c) Local Agriculture Marketing 

Program (LAMP) Food Safety 

Implementation: Until Farm Bill 

implementation is finalized via the 

Agency rulemaking process, there will 

not be food safety reserve funding. Food 

safety training, certifications, and 

supplies that are eligible under the 

current program regulation may 

continue to be included in the work 

plan/budget. 

A. Program Description 

1. Purpose of the Program. The 

objective of this grant program is to 

assist viable Independent Producers, 

Agricultural Producer Groups, Farmer 

and Rancher Cooperatives, and 

Majority-Controlled Producer-Based 

Businesses in starting or expanding 

value-added activities related to the 

processing and/or marketing of ValueAdded Agricultural Products. 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 of the program. All proposals must 

demonstrate economic viability and 

sustainability to compete for funding. 

2. Statutory 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. 

3. Definitions. The following 

definitions apply to this Notice: 

(i) Majority-Controlled ProducerBased Business Venture, incorporated 

from Section 10102 of the Agriculture 

Improvement Act of 2018, means a 

venture greater than 50 percent of the 

ownership and control of which is held 

by— 

(a) 1 or more producers; or 

(b) 1 or more entities, 100 percent of 

the ownership and control of which is 

held by 1 or more producers. The term 

‘entity’ means— 

(1) a partnership; 

(2) a limited liability corporation; 

(3) a limited liability partnership; and 

(4) a corporation. 

(ii) Market Expansion Project means a 

project in which the Independent 

Producer applicant seeks to expand the 

market for an existing value-added 

product (produced and marketed by the 

applicant for at least 2 years at the time 

of application) through sales to 

demonstrably new markets or to new 

customers in existing markets. 

(iii) Additional terms you need to 

understand are defined in 7 CFR 

4284.902. 

4. Application of Awards. 

Applications will be reviewed, 


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processed and scored as described at 7 

CFR 4284.940 and 4284.942. See 

Section E, Review and Selection 

Process, of this Notice for additional 

information. 

Funds will be awarded in application 

scoring rank order. COVID–19 relief 

funds will be utilized first until 

exhausted and then the Agency will 

continue making awards with the 

additional FY 2021 and FY 2022 funds. 

Funding priority will be made 

available to Beginning Farmers and 

Ranchers, Veteran Farmers and 

Ranchers, Socially-Disadvantaged 

Farmers and Ranchers, Operators of 

Small and Medium-Sized Farms and 

Ranches structured as Family Farms or 

Ranches, Farmer or Rancher 

Cooperatives, and projects proposing to 

develop a Mid-Tier Value Chain. See 7 

CFR 4284.923 for Reserved Funds 

eligibility and 7 CFR 4284.924 for 

Priority Scoring eligibility. 

B. Federal Award Information 

Type of Awards: Grant. 

Available Funding: Approximately 

$17 million is currently available in FY 

2022 along with about $2.75 million in 

COVID–19 relief funding carried over 

from the FY 2021 Appropriations Act 

for a total of $19.75 million in funding. 

Maximum Award Amount: 

Planning—$75,000; Working Capital— 

$250,000. 

Project Period: Up to 36 months 

depending on the complexity of the 

project. 

Anticipated Award Date: September 

30, 2022. 

Reservation of Funds: Ten percent of 

available funds for applications will be 

reserved for applicants qualifying as 

Beginning, Veteran, and SociallyDisadvantaged Farmers or Ranchers. An 

additional 10 percent of available funds 

for applications from farmers or 

ranchers proposing development of 

Mid-Tier Value Chains will be reserved. 

Beginning, Veteran, and SociallyDisadvantaged Farmers or Ranchers and 

applicants proposing Mid-Tier Value 

Chains not awarded for reserved funds 

will compete with other eligible VAPG 

applications. In addition, any funds that 

become available for persistent poverty 

counties through enactment of FY 2022 

appropriations will be allocated for 

assistance in persistent poverty 

counties. Funds not obligated from 

these reserves by September 30, 2022, 

will be used for the VAPG general 

competition and made available in a 

subsequent application cycle. 

C. Eligibility Information 

Applicants must comply with the 

program regulation 7 CFR part 4284, 

subpart J to meet all of the following 

eligibility requirements. Required 

documentation is included in the 

application package. Applications 

which fail to meet any of these 

requirements by the application 

deadline will be deemed ineligible and 

will not be evaluated further. 

1. Eligible Applicants. You must 

demonstrate within the application 

narrative that you meet all of the 

applicant eligibility requirements of 7 

CFR 4284.920 and 4284.921. This 

includes meeting the definition 

requirements at 7 CFR 4284.902 by 

demonstrating how you meet the 

definition for Agricultural Producer 

(i.e., how you participate in the ‘‘day to 

day labor, management, and field 

operations’’) of your agricultural 

enterprise); how you qualify for one of 

the following applicant types: 

Independent Producer, Agricultural 

Producer Group, Farmer or Rancher 

Cooperative or Majority-Controlled 

Producer-Based Business Venture; and 

whether you meet the Emerging Market, 

Citizenship, Legal Authority and 

Responsibility, Multiple Grants and 

Active Grants requirements of the 

section. Required documentation to 

support eligibility is contained at 7 CFR 

4284.931 and in the application 

package. 

Federally-recognized tribes and tribal 

entities must demonstrate that they 

meet the definition requirements for one 

of the four eligible applicant types. 

Rural Development State Offices and 

posted application toolkits will provide 

additional information on tribal 

eligibility. 

Per 7 CFR 4284.921, an applicant is 

ineligible if they have been debarred or 

suspended or otherwise excluded from 

or ineligible for participation in Federal 

assistance programs under Executive 

Order 12549, ‘‘Debarment and 

Suspension.’’ The Agency will check 

the Do Not Pay (DNP) system to 

determine if the applicant has been 

debarred or suspended. In addition, an 

applicant will be considered ineligible 

for a grant due to an outstanding 

judgment obtained by the U.S. in a 

Federal Court (other than U.S. Tax 

Court), is delinquent on the payment of 

Federal income taxes, or is delinquent 

on Federal debt. Per the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116– 

260) any corporation (i) that has been 

convicted of a felony criminal violation 

under any Federal law within the past 

24 months or (ii) that has any unpaid 

Federal tax liability that has been 

assessed, for which all judicial and 

administrative remedies have been 

exhausted or have lapsed, and that is 

not being paid in a timely manner 

pursuant to an agreement with the 

authority responsible for collecting the 

tax liability, is not eligible for financial 

assistance provided with funds 

appropriated by this or any other act, 

unless a Federal agency has considered 

suspension or debarment of the 

corporation and has made a 

determination that this further action is 

not necessary to protect the interests of 

the Government. It is possible that a 

comparable provision will be included 

in the appropriations act for FY 2022. 

Per 7 CFR 4284.905(a), Applicants 

must comply with other applicable 

Federal laws. Applicants who are 

proposing working capital grants to 

produce and market value-added 

products in the industries of wine, beer, 

distilled spirits or other alcoholic 

merchandise must comply with Alcohol 

and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 

(TTB) regulations, including but not 

limited to permitting, filing of taxes and 

operational reports. Please visit TTB’s 

website at https://www.ttb.gov/ for more 

information. If you are not in 

compliance with TTB’s requirements, 

the Agency may determine that you are 

not qualified to receive a Federal award 

and use that determination as a basis for 

making an award to another applicant. 

If, at any time after you have already 

received a VAPG award, you are found 

to be in noncompliance with TTB’s 

operational reporting or tax 

requirements, the Agency may 

determine that you are not in 

compliance with your grant terms and 

conditions. 

2. Cost-Sharing or Matching. 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. 

Funds will be awarded in application 

scoring rank order. COVID–19 relief 

funds will be utilized first until 

exhausted and then the Agency will 

continue making awards with the 

additional FY 2021 funds and any funds 

made available under the FY 2022 

appropriations act, once enacted. To be 

considered for both the COVID–19 relief 

funds and the FY 2021 or 2022 VAPG 

funds, you must submit a budget with 

a reduced cost share match of at least $1 

for every $10 in grant funds and an 

alternate second budget that includes 

the standard cost-share match of at least 

$1 for every $1 in grant funds. The 

second budget will allow your 

application to compete further for the 

additional FY 2021 and 2022 funding. If 

you choose to apply for COVID–19 relief 

funds or the additional FY 2021 and FY 

2022 funding only, you will need to 


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ensure that you have the applicable cost 

share match in your budget. Applicants 

unable to meet the standard cost-share 

match will be ineligible to compete for 

the additional FY 2021 and 2022 

funding. Applicants submitting an 

alternate second budget will not be 

rescored before competing for the FY 

2021 and 2022 funding. 

Matching funds may be in the form of 

cash or eligible in-kind contributions. 

Matching contributions and grant funds 

may be used only for eligible project 

purposes, including any contributions 

exceeding the minimum amount 

required. Applicant matching 

contributions in the form of raw 

commodity, time contributed to the 

project, or goods or services for which 

no out-of-pocket expenditure is made 

during the grant period, must be 

characterized as in-kind contributions. 

Donations of goods and services from 

third-parties must be characterized as 

in-kind contributions. Tribal applicants 

may utilize grants made available under 

Public Law 93–638, the Indian SelfDetermination and Education 

Assistance Act of 1975, as their 

matching contribution, and should 

check with appropriate tribal authorities 

regarding the availability of such 

funding. 

Matching funds must be available at 

the time of application and must be 

certified and verified as described in 7 

CFR 4284.931(b)(3) and (4). Do not 

include projected income as a matching 

contribution because it cannot be 

verified as available. Note that matching 

funds must also be discussed as part of 

the scoring criterion Commitments and 

Support as described in section E.1.(iii). 

3. Project Eligibility. You must 

demonstrate within the application 

narrative that your project meets all the 

project eligibility requirements of 7 CFR 

4284.922. 

(i) Product eligibility. Applicants for 

both planning and working capital 

grants must meet all requirements at 7 

CFR 4284.922(a), including that your 

value-added product must result from 

one of the five methodologies identified 

in the definition of Value-Added 

Agricultural Product at 7 CFR 4284.902. 

In addition, you must demonstrate that, 

as a result of the project, the customer 

base for the agricultural commodity or 

value-added product will be expanded, 

by including a baseline of current 

customers for the commodity, and an 

estimated target number of customers 

that will result from the project; and 

that, a greater portion of the revenue 

derived from the marketing or 

processing of the value-added product is 

available to the applicant producer(s) of 

the agricultural commodity, by 

including a baseline of current revenues 

from the sale of the agricultural 

commodity and an estimate of increased 

revenues that will result from the 

project. Note that working capital grants 

for market expansion projects per 7 CFR 

4284.922(b) must demonstrate expanded 

customer base and increased revenue 

resulting only from sales of existing 

products to new customers. The VAPG 

recognizes that market expansion 

projects may involve marketing and 

promotion activities such as trade 

shows, farmers markets, and various 

media advertising which also result in 

increased sales to existing customers. 

However, market expansion award 

recipients must use grant and matching 

funds only on activities that 

demonstrably focus on marketing 

products they have produced and sold 

for at least two years, to new markets 

and/or to new customers in existing 

markets, such that the producer’s 

customer base (number of customers) is 

expanded, per program requirements. 

Grant and matching funds cannot be 

deliberately expended on sales of 

existing products to existing customers. 

In addition, per the Agriculture 

Improvement Act of 2018, working 

capital applications must include a 

statement describing the direct or 

indirect producer benefits intended to 

result from the proposed project within 

a reasonable period of time after the 

receipt of a grant. 

(ii) Purpose eligibility. Applicants for 

both planning and working capital 

grants must meet all requirements at 7 

CFR 4284.922(b) regarding maximum 

grant amounts, verification of matching 

funds, eligible and ineligible uses of 

grant and matching funds, and a 

substantive, detailed work plan and 

budget. 

(a) Planning grants. A planning grant 

is used to fund development of a 

defined program of economic planning 

activities to determine the viability of a 

potential value-added venture, 

specifically for paying a qualified 

consultant to conduct and develop a 

feasibility study, business plan, and/or 

marketing plan associated with the 

processing and/or marketing of a valueadded agricultural product. Planning 

grant funds may not be used to fund 

working capital activities. 

(b) Working capital grants. This type 

of grant provides funds to operate a 

value-added project, specifically to pay 

the eligible project expenses directly 

related to the processing and/or 

marketing of the value-added products 

that are eligible uses of grant funds. 

Working capital funds may not be used 

for planning purposes. 

(iii) Reserved funds eligibility. To 

qualify for reserved funds as a 

Beginning, Veteran, or SociallyDisadvantaged Farmer or Rancher or if 

you propose to develop a Mid-Tier 

Value Chain, you must meet the 

requirements found at 7 CFR 4284.923. 

If your application is eligible, but is not 

awarded under the reserved funds, it 

will automatically be considered for 

general funds in that same fiscal year, as 

funding levels permit. 

(iv) Priority points. To qualify for 

priority points for projects that 

contribute to increasing opportunities 

for Beginning Farmers or Ranchers, 

Socially-Disadvantaged Farmers or 

Ranchers, or if you are an Operator of 

a small or medium-sized farm or ranch 

structured as a Family Farm, a Veteran 

Farmer or Rancher, propose a Mid-Tier 

Value Chain project, or are a Farmer or 

Rancher Cooperative, you must meet the 

applicable eligibility requirements at 7 

CFR 4284.923 and 4284.924 and must 

address the relevant proposal evaluation 

criterion. 

Priority points will also be awarded 

during the scoring process to eligible 

Agricultural Producer Groups, Farmer 

or Rancher Cooperatives, and MajorityControlled Producer-Based Business 

Ventures that best contribute to creating 

or increasing marketing opportunities 

for Beginning Farmers or Ranchers, 

Socially-Disadvantaged Farmers or 

Ranchers, and/or Veteran Farmers or 

Ranchers. You must meet the eligibility 

requirements at 7 CFR 4284.923 and 

4284.924 and must address the relevant 

proposal evaluation criterion. 

4. Eligible Uses of Grant and Matching 

Funds. Eligible uses of grant and 

matching funds are discussed, along 

with examples, in 7 CFR 4284.925. In 

general, grant and cost-share matching 

funds have the same use restrictions and 

must be used to fund only the costs for 

eligible purposes as defined at 7 CFR 

4284.925(a) and (b). 

5. Ineligible Uses of Grant and 

Matching Funds. Federal procurement 

standards prohibit transactions that 

involve a real or apparent conflict of 

interest for owners, employees, officers, 

agents, or their immediate family 

members having a personal, 

professional, financial or other interest 

in the outcome of the project, including 

organizational conflicts, and conflicts 

that restrict open and free competition 

for unrestrained trade. A list (not allinclusive) of ineligible uses of grant and 

matching funds is found in 7 CFR 

4284.926. 

6. Other. An applicant may submit 

only one application in response to a 

solicitation and must explicitly direct 

that it competes in either the general 


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funds competition or in one of the 

named reserved funds competitions. 

Multiple applications from separate 

entities with identical or greater than 75 

percent common ownership, or from a 

parent, subsidiary or affiliated 

organization (with ‘‘affiliation’’ defined 

by Small Business Administration 

regulation 13 CFR 121.103, or successor 

regulation) are not permitted. Further, 

Applicants who have already received a 

Planning Grant for the proposed project 

cannot receive another Planning Grant 

for the same project. Applicants who 

have already received a Working Capital 

Grant for the proposed project cannot 

receive any additional grants for that 

project (Proposals from previous award 

recipients should be substantially 

different in terms of products and/or 

markets and should not merely be 

extensions of previously funded 

projects). 

D. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package. The application toolkit, 

regulation, and official program 

notification for this funding opportunity 

can be obtained online at http://

www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/ 

value-added-producer-grants. You may 

also contact your USDA Rural 

Development State Office by visiting 

http://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/ 

state-offices. The toolkit contains an 

application checklist, templates, 

required grant forms, and instructions. 

Although the Agency highly 

recommends the use of the templates in 

the toolkit, it is not mandatory. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission. Applications may be 

submitted in paper form, by email or 

electronically through Grants.gov. 

Applications must contain all required 

information. 

(i) Electronic submission. To apply 

electronically, you must follow the 

instructions for this funding 

announcement at http://

www.grants.gov. Please note that we 

cannot accept faxed applications. 

You can locate the Grants.gov 

downloadable application package for 

this program by using a keyword, the 

program name, or the Assistance Listing 

Number (included in the Overview 

Section) for this program. 

When you enter the Grants.gov 

website, you will find information about 

applying electronically through the site, 

as well as the hours of operation. 

To use Grants.gov, you must already 

have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) 

number and you must also be registered 

and maintain registration in SAM. The 

UEI is assigned by SAM and replaces 

the formerly known Dun & Bradstreet 

D–U–N–S Number. The UEI number 

must be associated with the correct tax 

identification number of the VAPG 

applicant. We strongly recommend that 

you do not wait until the application 

deadline date to begin the application 

process through Grants.gov. 

If you are submitting your application 

electronically, you must submit all of 

your application documents through 

Grants.gov. 

After electronically applying through 

Grants.gov, you will receive an 

automatic acknowledgement from 

Grants.gov that contains a Grants.gov 

tracking number. 

(ii) Paper submission. If you want to 

submit a paper or email 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/stateoffices. An optional-use Agency 

application template is available online 

at http://www.rd.usda.gov/programsservices/value-added-producer-grants. 

(iii) Application contents. Your 

application must contain all the 

required forms and proposal elements 

described in 7 CFR 4284.931, unless 

otherwise clarified in this Notice. You 

are encouraged, but not required to 

utilize the Application Toolkits found at 

http://www.rd.usda.gov/programsservices/value-added-producer-grants, 

however, you must provide all of the 

information requested by the template. 

You must become familiar with the 

program regulation at 7 CFR part 4284, 

subpart J in order to submit a successful 

application. Basic application contents 

are outlined below: 

(a) Standard Form (SF)–424, 

‘‘Application for Federal Assistance,’’ to 

include your UEI number and SAM 

(CAGE) code and expiration date (or 

evidence that you have begun the SAM 

registration process). There are no 

specific fields for a CAGE code and 

expiration date; therefore, you may 

identify them anywhere on the form. If 

you do not include your UEI number in 

your application, it will not be 

considered for funding. 

(b) SF–424A, ‘‘Budget InformationNon-Construction Programs.’’ This form 

must be completed and submitted as 

part of the application package. 

(c) Permit. You must provide a valid 

permit or evidence of having begun the 

permitting process if you are proposing 

a working capital grant to produce and 

market value-added products in the 

industries of wine, beer, distilled spirits 

or other alcoholic merchandise. 

(d) Producer license. You must 

provide a valid producer license issued 

by a state, tribe, or USDA, as applicable, 

or in accordance with 7 CFR part 990 if 

you are proposing to market valueadded hemp products. 

(e) Executive Summary and Abstract. 

A one-page Executive Summary 

containing the following information: 

Legal name of applicant entity, 

application type (planning or working 

capital), applicant type, amount of grant 

request, a summary of your project, and 

whether you are submitting a simplified 

application, and whether you are 

requesting reserved funds. Also include 

a separate abstract of up to 100 words 

briefly describing your project. 

(f) Eligibility discussion. 

(g) Work plan and budget. 

(h) Performance evaluation criteria. 

(i) Proposal evaluation criteria. 

(j) Certification and verification of 

matching funds. 

(k) Reserved Funds and Priority Point 

documentation (as applicable). 

(l) Feasibility studies, business plans, 

and/or marketing plans, as applicable. 

(m) Appendices containing required 

supporting documentation. 

3. System for Awards Management 

(SAM) and assigned UEI. Each applicant 

applying for grant funds must be 

registered in SAM before submitting its 

application and provide a valid UEI, 

unless determined exempt under 2 CFR 

25.110(b), (c) or (d). You may register in 

SAM at no cost at https://www.sam.gov/ 

SAM/. 

(i) Applicants must maintain an active 

SAM registration with current, accurate 

and complete information at all times 

during which it has an active Federal 

award or an application under 

consideration by a Federal awarding 

agency. 

(ii) Applicants must ensure they 

complete the Financial Assistance 

General Certifications and 

Representations in SAM. 

(iii) The Agency will not make an 

award until the applicant has complied 

with all applicable UEI and SAM 

requirements. If an applicant has not 

fully complied with the requirements by 

the time the Agency is ready to make an 

award, the Agency may determine that 

the applicant is not qualified to receive 

a Federal award and use that 

determination as a basis for making a 

Federal award to another applicant. 

Please refer to Section F.2 for additional 

submission requirements that apply to 

grantees selected for this program. 

4. Submission Dates and Times. Paper 

applications must be postmarked and 

mailed, shipped, or sent overnight by 

May 2, 2022. The Agency will 

determine whether your application is 

late based on the date shown on the 

postmark or shipping invoice. You may 


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also hand carry or email your 

application to one of our field offices, 

but it must be received by close of 

business on the deadline date. If the due 

date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or 

Federal holiday, the application is due 

the next business day. Late applications 

will automatically be considered 

ineligible and will not be evaluated 

further. 

Electronic applications must be 

received at http://www.grants.gov no 

later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, April 

25, 2022 to be eligible for funding. 

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 

electronic application deadline. 

Grants.gov will not accept applications 

submitted after the deadline. 

5. Intergovernmental Review. 

Executive Order (E.O.) 12372, 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs, applies to this program. This 

E.O. requires that Federal agencies 

provide opportunities for consultation 

on proposed assistance with state and 

local governments. Many states have 

established a Single Point of Contact 

(SPOC) to facilitate this consultation. A 

list of states that maintain a SPOC may 

be obtained at https://

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/ 

uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-20.pdf. If 

your state has a SPOC, you must submit 

your application directly for review. 

Any comments obtained through the 

SPOC must be provided to RD for 

consideration as part of your 

application. If your state has not 

established a SPOC or you do not want 

to submit your application to the SPOC, 

RD will submit your application to the 

SPOC or other appropriate agency or 

agencies. Applications from federally 

recognized Indian tribes are not subject 

to Intergovernmental Review. 

6. Funding Restrictions. Funding 

limitations and reservations found in 

the program regulation at 7 CFR 

4284.927 will apply, including: 

(i) Use of Funds. Grant and matching 

funds may only be used for eligible 

purposes. (See examples of eligible and 

ineligible uses in 7 CFR 4284.925 and 

4284.926, respectively). Grant funds 

may not be used to pay any costs of the 

project incurred prior to the date of 

grant approval. 

(ii) Grant Period (project period). Your 

project timeframe or grant period can be 

a maximum of 36 months in length from 

the date of award, depending on the 

complexity of your project. Your 

proposed grant period should begin no 

earlier than the anticipated award 

announcement date in this Notice and 

should end no later than 36 months 

following that date. If you receive an 

award, your grant period will be revised 

to begin on the actual date of award— 

the date the grant agreement is executed 

by the Agency—and your grant period 

end date will be adjusted accordingly. 

Your project activities should begin 

within 90 days of that date of award. 

The length of your grant period should 

be based on your project’s complexity, 

as indicated in your application work 

plan. For example, it is expected that 

most planning grants can be completed 

within 12 months. 

(iii) Program Income. If income 

(Program Income) is earned during the 

grant period as a result of the project 

activities, it is subject to the 

requirements in 2 CFR 200.307, and 

must be managed and reported 

accordingly. 

(iv) Majority Controlled ProducerBased Business. The total amount of 

funds awarded to Majority Controlled 

Producer-Based Businesses in response 

to this announcement shall not exceed 

10 percent of the total funds obligated 

for the program during the fiscal year. 

(v) Reserved Funds. Ten percent of all 

funds available will be reserved to fund 

projects that benefit Beginning Farmers 

or Ranchers, Veteran Farmers or 

Ranchers, or Socially-Disadvantaged 

Farmers or Ranchers. In addition, 10 

percent of total funding available will be 

used to fund projects that propose 

development of Mid-Tier Value Chains 

as part of a Local or Regional Supply 

Network. See related definitions in 7 

CFR 4284.902. In addition, any funds 

that become available for persistent 

poverty counties through enactment of 

FY 2022 appropriations will be 

allocated for assistance in persistent 

poverty counties. 

(vi) Disposition of Reserved Funds 

Not Obligated. For this Notice, any 

reserved funds that have not been 

obligated by September 30, 2022, will be 

available to the Secretary to make VAPG 

grants in accordance with Section 

210A(i)(3)(A)(ii) of the Agricultural 

Marketing Act of 1946, as amended. 

7. Other Submission Requirements. 

Applications may be submitted in paper 

form, by email or electronically through 

Grants.gov. Faxed applications will not 

be accepted. 

E. Application Review Information 

Applications will be reviewed and 

processed as described at 7 CFR 

4284.940. The Agency will review your 

application to determine if it is 

complete and eligible. If at any time, the 

Agency determines that your 

application is ineligible, you will be 

notified in writing as to the reasons it 

was determined ineligible, and you will 

be informed of your review and appeal 

rights. Funding of successfully appealed 

applications will be limited to available 

funds. 

The Agency will only score 

applications in which the applicant and 

project are eligible, which are complete 

and sufficiently responsive to program 

requirements, and in which the Agency 

agrees on the likelihood of financial 

feasibility for working capital requests. 

We will score your application 

according to the procedures and criteria 

specified in 7 CFR 4284.942, and with 

tiered scoring thresholds as specified 

below. 

1. Scoring Criteria. For each criterion, 

you must show how the project has 

merit and why it is likely to be 

successful. Your complete response to 

each criterion must be included in the 

body of the application, including 

summarizations of any feasibility 

studies, business and marketing plans. If 

you do not address all parts of the 

criterion, or do not sufficiently 

communicate relevant project 

information, you will receive lower 

scores. The VAPG is a competitive 

program, so you will receive scores 

based on the quality of your responses. 

Simply addressing the criteria will not 

guarantee higher scores. The maximum 

number of points that can be awarded 

to your application is 100. For this 

Notice, the minimum score requirement 

for funding is 50 points. 

The Agency application toolkit 

provides additional instructions to help 

you to respond to the criteria below. 

(i) Nature of the proposed venture 

(graduated score 0–30 points). For both 

planning and working capital grants, 

you must discuss the technological 

feasibility of the project, as well as 

operational efficiency, profitability, and 

overall economic sustainability 

resulting from the project. You must 

also demonstrate the potential for 

expanding the customer base for the 

agricultural commodity or value-added 

product, and the expected increase in 

revenue returns to the producer-owners 

providing the majority of the raw 

agricultural commodity to the project. 

Working capital applicants must also 

provide the potential number of jobs 

that will result from the project, along 

with a justifiable basis for these 

projections. Please see the application 

template for more information. All 

applicants must reference and 

summarize third-party data and other 

information that specifically supports 

your value-added project; discuss the 

value-added process you are proposing; 

potential markets and distribution 


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channels; the value to be added to the 

raw commodity through the valueadded process; cost and availability of 

inputs, your experience in marketing 

the proposed or similar product; 

business financial statements; and any 

other relevant information that supports 

the viability of your project. Working 

capital applicants should demonstrate 

that these outcomes will result from the 

project and include supportable 

projections of increase in customer base, 

revenue returned to producers and jobs 

resulting from the project in order to 

receive up to the maximum number of 

points. Planning grant applicants should 

describe the expected results, and the 

reasons supporting those expectations. 

Points will be awarded as follows: 

(a) 0 points will be awarded if you do 

not address the criterion. 

(b) 1–5 points will be awarded if you 

do not address each of the following: 

Technological feasibility, operational 

efficiency, profitability, and overall 

economic sustainability. 

(c) 6–13 points will be awarded if you 

address technological feasibility, 

operational efficiency, profitability, and 

overall economic sustainability, but do 

not reference third-party information 

that supports the success of your 

project. 

(d) 14–22 points will be awarded if 

you address technological feasibility, 

operational efficiency, profitability, and 

overall economic, supported by thirdparty information demonstrating a 

reasonable likelihood of success. 

(e) 23–30 points will be awarded if all 

criterion components are well 

addressed, supported by third-party 

information, and demonstrate a high 

likelihood of success. 

(ii) Qualifications of project personnel 

(graduated score 0–20 points). You must 

identify all individuals who will be 

responsible for managing and 

completing the proposed tasks in the 

work plan, including the roles and 

activities that owners, staff, contractors, 

consultants or new hires may perform; 

and show that these individuals have 

the necessary qualifications and 

expertise, including those hired to do 

market or feasibility analyses, or to 

develop a business operations plan for 

the value-added venture. You must 

include the qualifications of those 

individuals responsible for leading or 

managing the total project (applicant 

owners or project managers), as well as 

those individuals responsible for 

conducting the various individual tasks 

in the work plan (such as consultants, 

contractors, staff or new hires). You 

must discuss the commitment and the 

availability of any consultants or other 

professionals to be hired for the project; 

especially those who may be consulting 

on multiple VAPG projects. If staff or 

consultants have not been selected at 

the time of application, you must 

provide specific descriptions of the 

qualifications required for the positions 

to be filled. Applications that 

demonstrate the strong credentials, 

education, capabilities, experience and 

availability of project personnel that 

will contribute to a high likelihood of 

project success will receive more points 

than those that demonstrate less 

potential for success in these areas. 

Points will be awarded as follows: 

(a) 0 points will be awarded if you do 

not address the criterion. 

(b) 1–4 points will be awarded if 

qualifications and experience of all staff 

is not addressed and/or if necessary, 

qualifications of unfilled positions are 

not provided. 

(c) 5–9 points will be awarded if all 

project personnel are identified but do 

not demonstrate qualifications or 

experience relevant to the project. 

(d) 10–14 points will be awarded if 

most key personnel demonstrate strong 

credentials and/or experience, and 

availability indicating a reasonable 

likelihood of success. 

(e) 15–20 points will be awarded if all 

personnel demonstrate strong, relevant 

credentials or experience, and 

availability indicating a high likelihood 

of project success. 

(iii) Commitments and support 

(graduated score 0–10 points). Producer, 

end-user, and third-party commitments 

will be evaluated under this criterion. 

Sole proprietors can receive a maximum 

of 9 points. Multiple producer 

applications can receive a maximum of 

10 points. 

(a) Producer commitments to the 

project will be evaluated based on the 

number of named and documented 

independent producers currently 

involved in the project; and the nature, 

level and quality of their contributions. 

(b) End-user commitments will be 

evaluated based on potential or 

identified markets and the potential 

amount of output to be purchased, as 

indicated by letters of intent or contracts 

(purchase orders) from potential buyers 

referenced within the application. 

Applications that demonstrate 

documented intent to purchase the 

value-added product will receive more 

points. Note that for planning grants, 

this criterion can be addressed by 

evidence of interest or support from 

identified or potential customers. 

(c) Third-party commitments to the 

project will be evaluated based on the 

critical and tangible nature of their 

contribution to the project, such as 

technical assistance, storage, processing, 

marketing, or distribution arrangements 

that are necessary for the project to 

proceed; and the level and quality of 

these contributions. Applications that 

demonstrate strong technical and 

logistical support to successfully 

complete the project will receive more 

points. 

Letters of commitment by producers, 

end-users, and third-parties should be 

summarized as part of your response to 

this criterion, and the letters must be 

included in Appendix B. Please note 

that VAPG does not require 

Congressional letters of support, nor do 

they carry any extra weight during the 

evaluation process. 

Points will be awarded as follows: 

(1) 0 points will be awarded if you do 

not address the criterion. 

(2) Independent Producer 

Commitment. 

(i) Sole Proprietor (one owner/ 

producer): 1 point 

(ii) Multiple Independent Producers 

(note that 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 

(3) End-user commitment: 

(i) No, or insufficiently documented, 

commitment from end-users: 0 points 

(ii) Well-documented commitment 

from one end-user: 2 point 

(iii) Well-documented commitment 

from more than one end-user: 4 points 

(4) Third-party commitment: 

(i) No, or insufficiently documented, 

commitment from third-parties: 0 points 

(ii) Well-documented commitment 

from one third-party: 2 point 

(iii) Well-documented commitment 

from more than one third-party: 4 points 

(iv) Work plan and budget (graduated 

score 0–20 points). You must submit a 

comprehensive work plan and budget 

(for full details, see 7 CFR 

4284.922(b)(5)). Your work plan must 

provide specific and detailed 

descriptions of the tasks and the key 

project personnel that will accomplish 

the project’s goals. The budget must 

present a detailed breakdown and 

description of all estimated costs of 

project activities (including source and 

basis for their valuation) and allocate 

those costs among the listed tasks, as 

instructed in the application package. 

You must show the source and use of 

both grant and matching funds for all 

tasks. Matching funds must be spent at 

a rate equal to, or in advance of, grant 

funds. An eligible start and end date for 

the entire project, as well as for each 

individual project task must be clearly 

shown. The project timeframe must not 

exceed 36 months and should be scaled 

to the complexity of the project. 


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Working capital applications must 

include an estimate of program income 

expected to be earned during the grant 

period (see 2 CFR 200.307). 

Points will be awarded as follows: 

(a) 0 points will be awarded if you do 

not address the criterion. 

(b) 1–7 points will be awarded if the 

work plan and budget do not account 

for all project goals, tasks, costs, 

timelines, and responsible personnel. 

(c) 8–14 points will be awarded if you 

provide a clear, comprehensive work 

plan detailing all project goals, tasks, 

timelines, costs, and responsible 

personnel in a logical and realistic 

manner that demonstrates a reasonable 

likelihood of success. 

(d) 15–20 points will be awarded if 

you provide a clear, comprehensive 

work plan detailing all project goals, 

tasks, timelines, costs, and responsible 

personnel in a logical and realistic 

manner that demonstrates a high 

likelihood of success. 

(v) Priority points up to 10 points 

(lump sum 0 or 5 points plus, graduated 

score 0–5 points). It is recommended 

that you use the Agency application 

package when applying for priority 

points and refer to the requirements 

specified in 7 CFR 4284.924. Priority 

points may be awarded in both the 

general funds and reserved funds 

competitions. 

(a) 5 points will be awarded if you 

meet the requirements for one of the 

following categories and provide the 

documentation described in 7 CFR 

4284.923 and 4284.924 as applicable: 

Beginning Farmer or Rancher, SociallyDisadvantaged Farmer or Rancher, 

Veteran Farmer or Rancher, or Operator 

of a Small or Medium-sized Farm or 

Ranch that is structured as a Family 

Farm, Farmer or Rancher Cooperative, 

or are proposing a Mid-Tier Value Chain 

project. 

(b) Up to 5 priority points will be 

awarded if you are an Agricultural 

Producer Group, Farmer or Rancher 

Cooperative, or Majority-Controlled 

Producer-Based Business Venture 

(referred to below as ‘‘applicant group’’) 

whose project ‘‘best contributes to 

creating or increasing marketing 

opportunities’’ for Operators of Small 

and Medium-sized Farms and Ranches 

that are structured as Family Farms, 

Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, 

Socially-Disadvantaged Farmers and 

Ranchers, and Veteran Farmers and 

Ranchers (referred to below as ‘‘priority 

groups’’). For each of the priority point 

levels below, applications must 

demonstrate how the proposed project 

will contribute to new or increased 

marketing opportunities for respective 

priority groups. Guidance on relevant 

information required to adequately 

demonstrate this requirement can be 

found in the program application 

package. 

(1) 2 priority points will be awarded 

if the existing membership of the 

applicant group is comprised of either 

more than 50 percent of any one of the 

four priority groups or more than 50 

percent of any combination of the four 

priority groups. 

(2) 1 additional priority point will be 

awarded if the existing membership of 

the applicant group is comprised of two 

or more of the priority groups. One 

point is awarded regardless of whether 

a group’s membership is comprised of 

two, three, or all four of the priority 

groups. 

(3) 2 additional priority points will be 

awarded if the applicant’s proposed 

project will increase the number of 

priority groups that comprise applicant 

membership by one or more priority 

groups. However, if an applicant group’s 

membership is already comprised of all 

four priority groups, such an applicant 

would not be eligible for points under 

this criterion because there is no 

opportunity to increase the number of 

priority groups. Note also that this 

criterion does not consider either the 

percentage of the existing membership 

that is comprised of the four priority 

groups or the number of priority groups 

currently comprising the applicant 

group’s membership. 

(vi) Administrator priority categories 

(graduated score 0–10 points). The 

Administrator of the Agency may 

choose to award priority points to 

improve the geographic diversity of 

awardees and to applications for 

projects that will advance RD Key 

Priorities (https://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

priority-points) as defined and measured 

on the RD Key Priorities website. 

(a) Applications may be awarded up 

to a total of 10 points for the following 

three priorities: 

(1) Assisting rural communities 

recover economically from the impacts 

of the COVID–19 pandemic, particularly 

disadvantaged communities. Proposals 

where the project is located in or 

serving one of the top 10% of counties 

or county equivalents based upon 

county risk score in the United States. 

Information on this priority may be 

found at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

priority-points. 

(2) Ensuring all rural residents have 

equitable access to RD programs and 

benefits from RD funded projects. Direct 

technical assistance to a project located 

in or serving a community with a score 

0.75 or above on the CDC Social 

Vulnerability Index. Information on this 

priority may be found at: https://

www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points. 

(3) Reduce climate pollution and 

increasing resilience to the impacts of 

climate change through economic 

support to rural communities. Direct 

technical assistance to a project 

addressing climate impacts shown as 

either quantitative or qualitative. 

Additional information on this priority 

may be found at: https://

www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points. 

(i) Quantitative: Project is located in 

or serving coal, oil and gas, and power 

plant communities whose economic 

well-being ranks in the most distressed 

tier of the Distressed Communities 

Index. 

(ii) Qualitative: Demonstrating how 

proposed climate-impact projects 

improve the livelihoods of community 

residents and meet pollution mitigation 

or clean energy goals. 

(b) The Agency will automatically 

confirm if the project is located in an 

area qualifying for these priorities. 

However, you can provide a written 

narrative in the application (will be 

noted in the application toolkits) on 

how your project reduces climate 

pollution and increases resilience to the 

impacts of climate change if the project 

is not located in or serving coal, oil and 

gas, and power plant communities 

whose economic well-being ranks in the 

most distressed tier. 

2. Review and Selection Process. The 

Agency will select applications for 

award under this Notice in accordance 

with the provisions specified in 7 CFR 

4284.950(a). 

If your application is eligible and 

complete, it will be qualitatively scored 

by at least two reviewers based on 

criteria specified in section E.1. of this 

Notice. One of these reviewers will be 

an experienced RD employee from your 

servicing State Office and at least one 

additional reviewer will be a nonFederal, independent reviewer, who 

must meet the following qualifications. 

Independent reviewers must have at 

least a bachelor’s degree in one or more 

of the following fields: Agri-business, 

agricultural economics, agriculture, 

animal science, business, marketing, 

economics or finance; or a minimum of 

8 years of experience in an agriculturerelated field (e.g., farming, marketing, 

consulting, or research; or as university 

faculty, trade association official, or 

non-Federal government official in an 

agriculturally-related field). Each 

reviewer will score evaluation criteria 

(i) through (iv) and the totals for each 

reviewer will be added together and 

averaged. The RD State Office reviewer 

will also assign priority points based on 

criterion (v) in section E.1. of this 


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Notice. These will be added to the 

average score. The sum of these scores 

will be ranked highest to lowest and this 

will comprise the initial ranking. To 

become a non-federal independent 

reviewer, please contact Grant Solutions 

at vapgreview@grantreview.org. 

The Administrator of the Agency may 

choose to award up to 10 Administrator 

priority points based on criteria (vi) in 

section E.1. of this Notice. These points 

will be added to the cumulative score 

for a total possible score of 100. 

A final ranking will be obtained based 

solely on the scores received for criteria 

(i) through (v). A minimum score of 50 

points is required for funding. 

Applications for reserved funds will be 

funded in rank order until funds are 

depleted. Unfunded reserve 

applications will be returned to the 

general funds where applications will 

be funded in rank order until the funds 

are expended. Funding for Majority 

Controlled Producer-Based Business 

Ventures is limited to 10 percent of total 

grant funds expected to be obligated as 

a result of this Notice. These 

applications will be funded in rank 

order until the funding limitation has 

been reached. Grants to these applicants 

from reserved funds will count against 

this funding limitation. In the event of 

tied scores, the Administrator shall have 

discretion in breaking ties. 

If your application is ranked, but not 

funded, it will not be carried forward 

into the next application funding cycle. 

F. Federal Award Administration 

Information 

1. Federal Award Notices. If you are 

selected for funding, you will receive a 

signed notice of Federal award 

containing instructions on requirements 

necessary to proceed with execution 

and performance of the award. 

If you are not selected for funding, 

you will be notified in writing and 

informed of any review and appeal 

rights. Funding of successfully appealed 

applications will be limited to available 

funding. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements. Additional requirements 

that apply to grantees selected for this 

program can be found in 7 CFR part 

4284, subpart J; the Grants and 

Agreements regulations of the 

Department of Agriculture codified in 2 

CFR parts 180, 200, 400, 415, 417, 418, 

421; 2 CFR parts 25 and 170; and 48 

CFR 31.2, and successor regulations to 

these parts. 

In addition, all recipients of Federal 

financial assistance are required to 

report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation 

(see 2 CFR part 170). You will be 

required to have the necessary processes 

and systems in place to comply with the 

Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109– 

282) reporting requirements (see 2 CFR 

170.200(b), unless you are exempt under 

2 CFR 170.110(b)). More information on 

these requirements can be found at 

http://www.rd.usda.gov/programsservices/value-added-producer-grants. 

The following additional 

requirements apply to grantees selected 

for this program: 

(i) Agency approved Financial 

Assistance Agreement. 

(ii) Letter of Conditions. 

(iii) Form RD 1940–1, ‘‘Request for 

Obligation of Funds.’’ 

(iv) Form RD 1942–46, ‘‘Letter of 

Intent to Meet Conditions.’’ 

(v) Use Form SF 270, ‘‘Request for 

Advance or Reimbursement.’’ 

3. Reporting. After grant approval and 

through grant completion, you will be 

required to provide the following, as 

indicated in the Financial Assistance 

Agreement: 

(i) An SF–425, ‘‘Federal Financial 

Report,’’ and a project performance 

report will be required on a semiannual 

basis (due 30 working days after end of 

the semiannual period). For the 

purposes of this grant, semiannual 

periods end on March 31st and 

September 30th. The project 

performance reports shall include the 

elements prescribed in the Financial 

Assistance Agreement. 

(ii) A final project and financial status 

report within 120 days after the 

expiration or termination of the grant. 

(iii) Provide outcome project 

performance reports and final 

deliverables. 

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 

If you have questions about this 

Notice, please contact the State Office as 

identified in the ADDRESSES section of 

this Notice. You are also encouraged to 

visit the application website for 

application tools, including an 

application guide and templates. The 

website address is: http://

www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/ 

value-added-producer-grants. You may 

also contact National Office staff at 

CPGrants@wdc.usda.gov or call the 

main line at (202) 720–1400. 

H. Other Information 

(1) 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. 

(2) National Environmental Policy 

Act. This Notice has been reviewed in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 1970, 

‘‘Environmental Policies and 

Procedures,’’ and it has been 

determined that an Environmental 

Impact Statement is not required 

because the issuance of regulations and 

instructions, as well as amendments to 

them, describing administrative and 

financial procedures for processing, 

approving, and implementing the 

Agency’s financial programs is 

categorically excluded in the Agency’s 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) regulation found at 7 CFR 

1970.53(f). We have determined that 

this Notice does not constitute a major 

Federal action significantly affecting the 

quality of the human environment. 

The Agency will review each grant 

application to determine its compliance 

with 7 CFR part 1970 and whether 

proposed financial assistance by the 

Agency would have a 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effect 

on minority or low-income populations. 

The applicant may be asked to provide 

additional information or 

documentation to assist the Agency 

with this determination. 

(3) Civil Rights Compliance 

Requirements. All grants made under 

this Notice are subject to Title VI of the 

Civil Rights Act of 1964 as required by 

the USDA (7 CFR part 15, subpart A) 

and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation 

Act of 1973. 

(4) Nondiscrimination Statement. In 

accordance with Federal civil rights 

laws and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) civil rights 

regulations and policies, the USDA, its 

Mission Areas, its agencies, staff offices, 

employees, and institutions 

participating in or administering USDA 

programs are prohibited from 

discriminating based on race, color, 

national origin, religion, sex, gender 

identity (including gender expression), 

sexual orientation, disability, age, 

marital status, family/parental status, 

income derived from a public assistance 

program, political beliefs, or reprisal or 

retaliation for prior civil rights activity, 

in any program or activity conducted or 

funded by USDA (not all bases apply to 

all programs). Remedies and complaint 

filing deadlines vary by program or 

incident. 

Program information may be available 

in languages other than English. Persons 

with disabilities who require alternative 

means of communication to obtain 

program information (e.g., Braille, large 

print, audiotape, American Sign 

Language) should contact the 

responsible Mission Area, agency or 

USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720– 

2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 1, 2022 / Notices 11405 

through the Federal Relay Service at 

(800) 877–8339. 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, a complainant should 

complete a Form AD–3027, USDA 

Program Discrimination Complaint 

Form, which can be obtained online at 

https://www.ocio.usda.gov/document/ 

ad-3027, from any USDA office, by 

calling (866) 632–9992, or by writing a 

letter addressed to USDA. The letter 

must contain the complainant’s name, 

address, telephone number, and a 

written description of the alleged 

discriminatory action in sufficient detail 

to inform the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature 

and date of the alleged civil rights 

violation. The completed AD–3027 form 

or letter must be submitted to USDA by: 

(1) Mail: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410; 

(2) Fax: (833) 256–1665 or (202) 690– 

7442; or 

(3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

Karama Neal, 

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04293 Filed 2–28–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

[Docket #: RUS–22–ELECTRIC–0011] 

Badger State Solar, LLC; Notice of 

Availability of a Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement and Notice of Public 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft 

environmental impact statement and 

notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS) announces that a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for a project proposed by Badger State 

Solar, LLC is available for public review 

and comment. RUS is publishing the 

Draft EIS to inform interested parties 

and the general public about the project 

proposal and to invite the public to 

comment on the scope, Proposed 

Action, and other issues addressed in 

the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS was 

prepared in accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended, Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

regulations for implementing the 

procedural provisions of NEPA, and 

RUS, Environmental Policies and 

Procedures and evaluates the potential 

direct, indirect, and cumulative 

environmental effects related to 

providing financial assistance for the 

Badger State Solar, LLC’s Alternating 

Current solar project (Project). Badger 

State Solar intends to request financial 

assistance from RUS for the Proposed 

Action and information contained in the 

EIS will serve as a basis for the decision 

regarding whether to provide the 

requested financial assistance. RUS has 

determined that its action regarding the 

Proposed Action is an undertaking 

subject to review under Section 106 of 

the National Historic Preservation Act 

and its implementing regulation, 

‘‘Protection of Historic Properties’’ and 

as part of its broad environmental 

review process, RUS must take into 

account the effect of the Proposed 

Action on historic properties. With this 

notice, RUS invites any affected federal, 

state, and local agencies, Tribes, and 

other interested persons to comment on 

the scope, alternatives, and significant 

issues to be analyzed in depth in the 

EIS. 

DATES: Written comments on this Draft 

EIS must be received during the 

comment period, which begins March 

4th and ends April 18th. A public 

meeting to solicit comments on the Draft 

EIS will be held in a virtual format on 

Tuesday, March 22nd, at 7 p.m. EST via 

Zoom. Written comments may be 

submitted via email to 

BadgerStateSolarEIS@usda.gov or by 

mail as noted in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. 

Those wishing to attend the meeting 

are invited to register online at the 

virtual public meeting room website 

https://badgerstatesolar.consultation.ai. 

An email will be sent to registrants with 

information for how to access the 

meeting. Attendees will be able to 

provide oral and written comments 

during the meeting. Oral comments 

from the public will be recorded by a 

certified court reporter. The virtual 

public meeting room is an interactive 

website which will be available 

throughout the public comment period. 

Attendees will also be able to submit 

written comments through the virtual 

public meeting room website. All 

comments submitted during the public 

review period, oral or written, will 

become part of the public record. Before 

including your address, telephone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

All comments will be reviewed and 

responded to in the Final EIS. For 

consideration in the Final EIS, 

comments must be postmarked or 

received online by 11:59 p.m. EST on 

Monday, April 18th. 

ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS and other 

Project-related information is available 

at RUS’s and Badger State Solar’s 

websites located at: https://

www.rd.usda.gov/resources/ 

environmental-studies/impactstatements, https://badgerstatesolar.

consultation.ai, and https://

www.badgerstatesolar.com. 

In addition, hard copies of the 

documents are available at the Jefferson 

Public Library in Jefferson, WI, the 

Cambridge Community Library in 

Cambridge, WI and the Lake Mills 

Library in Lake Mills, WI. Parties 

wishing to be placed on the mailing list 

for future information or to receive hard 

or electronic copies of the EIS should 

also contact the person contact below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions can be directed to Peter 

Steinour, 202–961–6140, 

BadgerStateSolarEIS@usda.gov during 

the open comment period. Comments 

submitted after the comment period 

may not be considered by the agency. 

This email address may also be used to 

request consulting party status and to 

inquire about additional information. 

Written comments may also be 

submitted by mail to United States 

Department of Agriculture, Attention: 

Peter Steinour, Mail Stop 1570, Rural 

Utilities Service, WEP/EES, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW, Washington, 

DC 20250 during the open comment 

period. Comments submitted after the 

comment period may not be considered 

by the agency. This mail address may 

also be used to request consulting party 

status and to inquire about additional 

information. 

Project-related information will be 

available at RUS’s and Badger State 

Solar’s websites located at: https://

www.rd.usda.gov/resources/ 

environmental-studies/impactstatements, https://badgerstatesolar.

consultation.ai, and https://

www.badgerstatesolar.com. 

Due to the COVID–19 pandemic, 

electronic communication is preferred 

because delivery of hard copies by mail 

may not be delivered in a timely 

manner. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Agencies Involved and Status 

Rural Utilities Service, Lead Agency 

United States Army Corps of Engineers, 

Consulting Party for Section 106 


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