The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) announced Thursday that its Agricultural Enterprise Fund (AEF) cost share program is accepting applications from agricultural, food, and forestry businesses across the state.
TDA’s AEF program awards grants to starting or expanding agricultural, food, and forestry businesses, nonprofits, local governments, and other entities in Tennessee or those whose projects will be located in Tennessee.
The program focuses on “value-added and processing projects that benefit other producers or forest landowners,” according to TDA, which adds that priority funding will be given to “businesses located in at-risk counties, distressed counties, and counties adjoining at-risk or distressed counties.”
Grants awarded through the program will cover up to 25 percent of the proposed project’s budget.
Since 2017, according to TDA Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, the AEF cost share program has awarded more than $8.4 million in grants to agricultural, food, and forestry businesses and nonprofits across the state.
“Innovative agricultural projects and those that positively impact local farm income or increase access to markets are targets for the program. Projects that take place in economically at-risk or distressed counties will be given priority,” Hatcher added in a statement.
The deadline to apply for TDA’s AEF program is July 10. For an application to be considered, businesses must include proof of financing and a business plan with their application, TDA notes.
For a full list of application requirements and more information on TDA’s AEF cost share program, visit www.tn.gov/agriculture/businesses/aef.html.
The State of Tennessee also offers additional cost share programs for agricultural businesses that are not eligible for the AEF program.
The Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program (TAEP) funds farming projects such as livestock, row crop, or horticulture production expansions for the purpose of “making long-term investments in Tennessee farms and communities.”
TDA’s newest resource, the Tennessee Forestry, Agriculture, and Rural Markets (FARM) cost share program, provides financial assistance to the state’s agricultural, food, forestry, and nonprofit agricultural entities that promote “stabilizing and strengthening the supply chain to prevent future challenges.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
