Macon County farmers and small food businesses have until Dec. 15 to apply for state grants of up to $200,000 to plan value-added farm businesses or to buy equipment that gets locally grown food into schools, hospitals, and other institutions.
The Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority, part of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, opened applications Oct. 21 for its Value-Added Agriculture Grant and its Value-Added Agriculture "Farm to Table" Grant, according to a department release. Applications must be received by 3 p.m. Dec. 15. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
"Opportunities to add value to Missouri agriculture products is a great way to expand our already diverse and vibrant agriculture industry," Missouri Department of Agriculture Director Chris Chinn said in the release. "We are excited to offer these opportunities for Missouri farms and agribusinesses to help take their operation to the next level and create an additional revenue stream."
The Macon Chronicle reported Oct. 29 that Macon County farm income fell 47 percent in 2024, to about $20.3 million. On Tuesday, it reported that county farmers have until Friday, Nov. 6, to apply for this year’s funding from a USDA regenerative agriculture program.
The Value-Added grant pays for business planning, such as feasibility studies, marketing plans, business plans, and legal assistance. Past grants paid for planning on elderberry products, soybean processing, biofuel, wood pellets, and dairy products, the department said.
The Farm to Table grant pays for equipment and services that small businesses need to process Missouri-grown food for institutions, which the guidelines define to include schools, correctional facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and military bases. Eligible purchases include coolers, freezers, and washing, bagging, packing, and sorting equipment, along with professional help writing food safety plans. The grant can cover up to 90 percent of eligible project costs.
The program’s rules are aimed at small operations. Under the Farm to Table guidelines, a small farm is a Missouri family farm with less than $250,000 in gross sales a year, and a small agribusiness has less than $5 million. At least half of the products a grant recipient processes must be locally grown, meaning grown in Missouri or within 30 miles of the state line, and sales to Missouri institutions must make up at least 10 percent of the business’s gross sales after the grant. Recipients must certify those sales every year for three years, or the authority may take back part of the money.
Most Macon County farms fit under the small-farm sales line. The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 1,146 farms in the county with sales under $250,000, or 91 percent of the county’s 1,258 farms.
Few of them sold food the way the Farm to Table grant is meant to encourage. The census counted 12 Macon County farms that sold food directly to retail markets, institutions, and food hubs for local or regionally branded products in 2022, with sales of $196,000. That was up from one farm in 2017. Another 34 Macon County farms sold $131,000 in food directly to consumers, and 10 sold $83,000 in processed or value-added products.
Among the seven counties that border Macon County, Linn County had 13 farms selling to retail markets, institutions, and food hubs, Randolph County had 12, Knox County had 10, Adair County had seven, Monroe County had five, Chariton County had four, and Shelby County had three.
Macon County’s 10 farms selling value-added products were the most of the eight counties. Adair, Monroe, Randolph, and Shelby counties had six each, Knox and Linn counties had five each, and Chariton County had none.
The grants come with costs and paperwork. Under the Farm to Table guidelines, half of each award comes from the authority’s own funds and half from the sale of state agricultural tax credits, and applicants must find their own buyer. A Farm to Table application must include a letter from a buyer committing to purchase tax credits worth at least half the grant request, a letter of commitment or purchase contract from at least one institution, and a written, dated bid for the equipment.
Applicants pay a nonrefundable fee of $300 for requests of $50,000 or less and $500 for larger requests and must put up at least a 10 percent cash match, which can be met by paying the authority’s 10 percent grant administration fee when a grant agreement is signed. Tax credit payments are due between May 1 and June 11, 2027, and no money is paid out until they arrive. Applicants whose proposals score high enough will be interviewed by the authority’s board, tentatively in March 2027, according to the guidelines.
One paper copy of each application must reach the authority’s office at 1616 Missouri Blvd. in Jefferson City by the deadline. Guidelines are on the Missouri Department of Agriculture website. Questions go to masbda@mda.mo.gov or 573-751-2129.