2020 Value-Added Producer Grant Awards Announced in Georgia

 
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I had a hand in one of these. Batting 100% on VAPG applications this year. I wished I had been able to work on more applications, but the deadline coincided with a hundred other grant deadlines, project events, unexpected commitments, and even the start of the COVID-19 period.

Great farms and farmers on this list:

$250,000.00 - GA/Brooks - THOMPSON FARMS COUNTRY CURED MEATS, LLC

This Rural Development investment will be used as working capital for theThompson Farms Ready-to-eat pulled pork product entering a new geographic region.

$250,000.00 - GA/Bulloch - HUNTER CATTLE COMPANY LLC

This Rural Development investment will be used for working capital for Hunter Cattle Company’s "Air Dried Beef", individually packed and shelf stable product.

$250,000.00 - GA/Clay - WHITE OAK PASTURES, INC.

This Rural Development investment will help White Oak Pastures as working capital for their new ready to eat/ready to cook canned/frozen meat and vegetables.

$250,000.00 - GA/Dougherty - PRETORIA FIELDS FARMS, LLC

This Rural Development investment be used as working capital for Pretoria Fields Farms, LLC conversion from cereal rye to rye beer.

$250,000.00 - GA/Gilmer - ENGELHEIM VINEYARDS LLC

This Rural Development investment will be used to assist Engelheim Vineyard to expand their wine product line.

$250,000.00 - GA/Lamar - THOUSAND HILLS CATTLE RANCH LLC

This Rural Development investment will be used to process, package and distribute USDA Certified Organic beef cuts.

$248,842.00 - GA/Meriwether - FITZGERALD FRUIT FARMS LLC

This Rural Development investment will be used for market expansion to distribute locally produced agricultural food produce.

$250,000.00 - GA/Peach - LEE POPE PECANS, LLC

This Rural Development investment will be used as working capital for Lee Pope Pecans, LLC flavored and packaged snack pecans in 4 oz packages in three flavors - Roasted and Salted, Cinnamon and Gingerbread

$250,000.00 - GA/Seminole - AMERICAN PEANUT GROWERS GROUP, LLC

This Rural Development investment will be used as working capital to convert runner peanuts to shelled and blanched runner peanuts.

$250,000.00 - GA/Stephens - CURRAHEE VINEYARD & WINERY INC

This Rural Development investment will be used to assist the Currahee Vineyard to expand their wine product line.

$250,000.00 - GA/Tift - SOUTHERN DRAWL COTTON, LLC

This Rural Development investment will be used as working capital for Southern Drawl Cotton LLC cotton sheets, pillowcases and cotton tea towels.

$203,000.00 - GA/Towns - CRANE CREEK VINEYARDS INC

This Rural Development investment will be used to assist Crane Creek Vineyard to expand their wine product line.

$250,000.00 - GA/White - HABERSHAM VINTNERS, INC.

This Rural Development investment will be used to assist Habersham Vintners, Inc for their emerging market to produce and distribute a new carbonated wine product.

Farm Bankruptcies in Georgia Jump

 
 

The Farm Bureau article on national bankruptcy trends for agricultural producers has been making the rounds, and the number for Georgia — at 37 tied for second most behind Wisconsin — stick out. Wisconsin’s ranking likely owes to the troubles that have shaken the dairy industry of late. (In fact, Dean Foods, the nations’ number one milk producer, just filed for bankruptcy.) The situation in Georgia is a striking contrast against neighboring states, and perhaps it shows the impact of the “trade war” on cotton producers and even the lasting damage of Hurricane Michael.

But there are some things to consider:

  • Per the AJC, the number of farmers who filed for Chapter 12 through September 30 is up 12 from the same period in 2018. However, that amount was 43 and 41 in the two previous years.

  • Georgia is doing fine in Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments, that series of magical remunerations for farmers’ sacrifice during the “trade war” with China. To date, Georgia has received $151,605,594.10. By comparison, Alabama has only gotten $55,610,083.70

  • On November 15, Secretary Perdue announced a second tranche of MFP payments to be paid starting the week of Thanksgiving. For producers of MFP-eligible commodities, this now covers 75% of the potential total payment from MFP. For reference, MFP will provide as much as $14.5 billion in direct payments to farmers.

  • The USDA will consider issuing a third round of MFP payments based on market conditions. You can take it to the land bank that this will happen. That Farm Bureau article estimates that 40% of farmers’ income (i.e. $33 billion) “is related to trade assistance, disaster assistance, the farm bill and insurance indemnities.” In a year of bad weather, these payments are helping keep farms afloat. The only question is when. Farmers will need them ASAP to fund and finance 2020 crops. But political cycle may hold them up until it’s most advantageous for Trump’s reelection campaign.


In the midst of the storm and stress around farm bankruptcies and hard times in the heartland, it’s worth considering concentration in the industry and the growth of mega farms, for good or ill.

Five percent of all farms produce 75% of all sales, and the trend line is falling. These figures come from Brent Gloy of Agricultural Economic Insights using data from the USDA NASS Census of Agriculture.

 
 


Interestingly, Gloy points out that these large farms are also responsible for a disproportionate amount of Certified Organic production. Out of a total of $7.27 billion, 43 had organic sales of $1.3 billion and 945 had sales of $4.6 billion. In other words, less than a thousand farms account for over 60% of all organic sales.

USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Awards Announced

Just as with OPPE 2501 awards, no USDA NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) projects were funded in Georgia. While this may simply result from a lack of quality applications originating from the Peach State, it is disheartening to see that the Southeast mostly missed out: two grants in Mississippi, one in New Orleans, one in North Carolina, which sometimes counts as the Southeast and sometimes doesn’t. (For the purposes of reason and logic, I’m not counting Broward County as part of the region. Tallahassee, yes. Miami, no. Ocala, maybe).

Since 2014, the South has gotten a quarter of all BFRDP awards according to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. This year it was less than 10%. Curiously, grants went to some of the least populated states in the nation: Delaware, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. Five projects in the Mid-Atlantic states received funds. To the naked eye, it almost appears as if awards were clustered in certain geographic areas: the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Ohio-Kentucky, Mississippi, Plains-Midwest, Colorado-New Mexico, and the Pacific Northwest.

 
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Having served on three BFRDP review panels, I doubt there’s any grand art or order to the overall selection of awardees. Setting aside the necessity of quality applications across the country, award decisions are often a function of the geographic distribution of reviewers. Because BFRDP review panels are conducted in-person in D.C., the process is more likely to attract reviewers who have the least trouble traveling there. And those people are naturally prejudiced toward what they know.