COLUMBIA, Mo. – Small and diverse food and farm entrepreneurs are invited to apply for more than $3.7 million in Business Builder grants that will support projects in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and northwestern Arkansas.

The first round of funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Heartland Regional Food Business Center opened on Aug. 15. Grants can range from $5,000 to $50,000 each. Applications will be accepted through Oct. 15, 2024. The grants will go to projects that promote business expansion, job creation, business capacity building, and increase the availability of locally grown and raised products in local and regional markets.

Applicants must be small food and farm businesses or nonprofit organizations, like farmers markets, that are located in the five-state Heartland region. Eligible applicants must have fewer than 50 employees and produce less than $3 million in gross annual revenue.

“This funding will provide important building blocks for producers and businesses,” said Bill McKelvey, University of Missouri senior project coordinator and Heartland Center project lead for MU Extension. “This effort complements related Missouri programs focused on agricultural entrepreneurship and value-added production, along with funding for food systems equipment and infrastructure. The awards will provide food and farm businesses with the capital needed to launch and expand their businesses while they work to build income streams or identify new markets.”

About 90% of Missouri farms are family owned or managed, with many falling into this eligible category.

“Many of these are producing for local and regional markets,” McKelvey said. “We also have vibrant urban agriculture in our major cities, and we have new and creative value-added enterprises across the state. With the number of small farms in Missouri and the diversity of creative food and farm businesses, we expect to see strong interest this program.”

Grants will also target food and farm entrepreneurs who may have never applied for a grant before or who are unsure of their eligibility or where to go for assistance. With help from MU Extension’s Agricultural Business and Policy program and the Missouri Agriculture Food and Forestry Innovation Center, Missouri applicants can receive one-on-one technical assistance and grant writing consultation. A network of technical assistance providers is also available to help businesses in other states.

MU Extension’s Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) is supporting the Heartland Center Business Builder initiative by hosting the online grant application. CARES provides additional support for Heartland’s resource-mapping initiative, evaluation process and website.

Details are available at https://heartlandfoodbusiness.org/business-builder, where there is also an FAQ section and contact form.

The Heartland Center will host an informational webinar on how to apply for Business Builder grants noon-1 p.m. Wednesday Aug. 28. Register at http://muext.us/BBwebinar.

Additionally, two office-hour sessions will be offered in September.

The Heartland Center is one of 12 USDA Regional Food Business Centers in the country. Centers are tasked with building food supply chain resilience through development support for small, mid-size and diverse food and farm businesses.