Merkley, Wyden Announce $1.9 Million in Grants to Boost Oregon’s Small Agricultural Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that 13 Oregon agricultural businesses will receive a total of $1.9 million in grants to help them grow and expand. The grants will be provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program, which is designed to help farmers, ranchers, small businesses and entrepreneurs nationwide develop new product lines. 

As the top Democrat on the Senate’s Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Merkley has consistently fought to ensure that the VAPG program receives the funding it needs to boost small businesses and the agricultural economy nationwide and here in Oregon.

“Oregon’s agricultural small businesses and entrepreneurs are among the most innovative in the world, and it’s great to see their enormous potential being recognized today,” said Merkley. “I’ll keep working to make sure that programs like these get the resources they deserve, so that Oregon’s agriculture industry and rural economy can keep growing and creating new jobs across our state.” 

“Through their tireless hard work and dedication, rural Oregonians have put our state on the map for producing some of the finest specialty crops, beef, trees and seeds found around the globe,” Wyden said. “This funding will help make it easier for our farmers and ranchers to continue doing the great work they do in their fields across Oregon.”

A full list of the businesses receiving grants today follows below.