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Agency reports $11.4 million in FY24 ag development grants, says demand far outstripped funds
Summary
The Agency of Agriculture told senators the economic-development division awarded $11.4 million to more than 260 recipients in fiscal year 2024 but received requests exceeding $108 million from more than 1,290 applicants; staff described programs supporting maple, meat, produce and export efforts including trade missions.
Abby Willard, director of the Agency of Agriculture’s Ag Development Division, briefed the Senate Agriculture Committee on the agency’s economic-development work and grant programs.
“In fiscal year 24... we granted out over $11,400,000 to over 260 recipients,” Willard said, and she added that the division received requests totaling roughly $108,000,000 from about 1,290 businesses and organizations, meaning the agency funded roughly 10 percent of requests in that cycle.
Willard described several grant programs and services: targeted sector grants (meat, maple, produce), the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative (state program dating to 2012), the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (a federally supported multi‑state center housed at the agency), and export assistance including trade-mission support and a USDA-funded maple marketing (ACER) program. She said the division provides outreach and technical assistance, maintains a WebGrants portal for applications and claims processing, and connects applicants to partners that provide grant-writing assistance.
Senators and staff discussed export opportunities; Tebbetts and committee members described outreach efforts to markets in the Asia-Pacific region and interest in coordinating a multi‑state economic office in Taiwan to promote regional products.
Willard said the division tries to provide tailored reviewer feedback to denied applicants and that the office sends a weekly outreach bulletin to about 5,000 subscribers listing funding and training opportunities.
Ending
Staff offered to present program-specific briefings to the committee on Working Lands, the dairy innovation center and recent maple and meat grant programs, and asked senators to refer interested producers to the agency’s WebGrants portal and weekly bulletin.
