Agricultural Enterprise Fund Accepting New Applications
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The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) is accepting applications from agricultural, food, and forestry businesses to receive cost-share funding through its Agricultural Enterprise Fund (AEF) program.
The AEF awards grants to starting or expanding businesses in Tennessee and supports Governor Lee’s priorities in distressed counties. Awards are created to those who demonstrate a strong potential for effect on local farm income, usage of markets, increased capacity, or agricultural innovation.
“We anticipate supporting strong and impactful projects across our state with these strategic cost-share investments,” Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. said. “The excellent results from previous grant recipients is evident, and we anticipate continued growth of agribusinesses through this round of the Agricultural Enterprise Fund.”
The application form for the AEF program are available online at agriculture.tn.gov/AEF/AEF_Application/Create, and the deadline to use is April 1, 2021. Businesses must include proof financing and a business plan with their application for it to be considered.
“The Agricultural Enterprise Fund program allowed us to expand with techniques that will impact not merely us, but our local economy,” Claire Getty of Thompson Appalachian Hardwoods in Huntland said. “We have now use more loggers and forest landowners from our community, our county, and our region.”
In total, the Agricultural Enterprise Fund has awarded almost $4.3 million in funding to Tennessee businesses, resulting in more than $59 million in private investments from agriculture and forest-product business development because the program’s launch in 2017. You will find more information regarding the Tennessee Agricultural Enterprise Fund at www.tn.gov/agriculture/businesses/aef.html or by emailing Will Freeman at william.h.freeman@tn.gov.
Source: https://www.tn.gov