Governor Bob McDonnell has announced
the recipients of fiscal year 2013 planning grants from the Governor’s
Agriculture & Forestry Industries Development Fund (AFID). Eleven
projects covering more than thirty localities have been awarded a total of $249,000
to support the growth of agricultural and forestry projects in the
Commonwealth. The AFID planning grants program was developed to encourage local
governments and regional organizations to analyze and plan strategically about
how they can support and integrate agriculture and forestry-based industries
into their communities’ overall economic development efforts.
A listing and brief
summary of the qualifying projects and their locations is included below.
Speaking about the AFID
planning grants awards, Governor McDonnell said, “We’ve had great success
incorporating two of the Commonwealth’s largest industries, agriculture and
forestry, and their significant overall impact on our economy into our economic
development agenda. That strategic decision has been justified many times over.
Exports have reached new record highs during the last three years and we’ve
successfully utilized AFID economic development grants to attract new
agribusinesses to Virginia and to help existing operations expand. Creating a
program that incentivizes communities to plan for how they can best grow and
support agricultural and forestry industries in their business community is a
natural continuation of a strategy that is proven to benefit Virginians and
create jobs.”
Governor McDonnell continued,
“Creating opportunities and the right environment for businesses to succeed is
the approach we’ve taken over the course of my administration to keep the
economic recovery going in Virginia. During my time as governor, unemployment
has dropped from 7.2% to 5.3% because of our commitment to conservative
principles and smart, targeted investments that lead to job creation. The AFID
is just one more example of our efforts at work. Our General Assembly partners
in this initiative, leaders such as Delegates Steve Landes, Kirk Cox, and Ed
Scott and Senators Bill Stanley, John Watkins and Emmett Hanger, deserve many
thanks for their work to make funds available for important local economic
development efforts such as the AFID planning grant program.”
The communities and
regions receiving AFID planning grants will match each dollar awarded with a
dollar of local funds, including certain types of allowed in-kind contributions.
The program also requires the active participation of a board, committee, or
working group representing the relevant agriculture and forestry interests in
the locality.
“Flexibility was given to
applicants to pursue the type of project that made the most sense for their
region or locality, whether it was something as broad as creating a strategic
plan for agriculture and forestry development, or as specific as construction
of a commercial kitchen facility,” said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
Todd Haymore. “It was extremely important that projects demonstrate
involvement from the local agriculture and forestry community, giving an
indication that it was the producers themselves who helped identify and support
economic development opportunities that were of true benefit to their
industries. I am hopeful that the successful implementation of these
planning grants will lead to future awards of some of our larger AFID facility
grants to these same localities that will have benefitted from their dedication
to planning for agriculture and forestry.”
AFID planning grant program
guidelines were announced on November 27, 2012, with applications for FY 2013
due March 1, 2013. Applicants demonstrating a clear need, a solution to be
undertaken, and strong support from local government and the agriculture and
forestry community received the highest marks during the review process.
The next round of AFID Planning Grants will be fall 2013. Localities interested
in applying may visit http://vdacs.virginia.gov/agribusiness/planning.shtml
for more information.
Agriculture and forestry are
Virginia’s largest industries, with a combined economic impact of $79 billion
annually: $55 billion from agriculture and $24 billion from
forestry. The industries also provide approximately 500,000 jobs in the
Commonwealth according to the Weldon Cooper for Public Service at the
University of Virginia.
Governor’s Agricultural and
Forestry Industries’ Fiscal Year 2013
Planning Grant Recipients and
Projects
Project Title: New
Markets for Agriculture Producers in Southwest Virginia through Online
Marketing and a Local Food Campaign
Applicant:
Town of Abingdon
Award:
$20,000
Summary:
Abingdon Convention and Visitors Bureau and Appalachian Sustainable Development
will work together to develop new, year-round markets for locally produced
agricultural products by creating and marketing an online order system to
facilitate the sales of local foods to restaurants and other
institutions. The effort will also further develop Rooted in Appalachia
website and mobile app to promote local foods and restaurants serving them.
Project Title: Fields of
Gold – The Next Season of Agritourism in the Shenandoah Valley
Applicant:
Central Shenandoah PDC (CSPDC)
Award:
$35,000
Summary:
Fields of Gold is a regional agritourism marketing initiative led by the CSPDC
in the Shenandoah Valley. They recently completed a year-long planning
process, funded by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD),
and have received significant support and buy-in from their member localities,
as well as awards for the effort. This grant is to develop and market a
robust website that will include an interactive map of agritourism sites, an
events calendar and farm-to-restaurant guide. The marketing and build-out
of the website were identified as key deliverables in their strategic marketing
plan.
Project Title: Fauquier
County Impact of Agriculture Study
Applicant:
Fauquier County
Award:
$6,000
Summary:
Funds will be used to conduct a study of the needs of the farming community in
Fauquier and to off-set the costs of having UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center conduct
an “Impact of Agriculture” study to document the overall economic contribution
of agriculture to Fauquier. As part of the study, a working group of
county farmers, representing all segments of the local farming community, will
work with the County’s Agricultural Advisory Committee and the Fauquier County
Farm Bureau to conduct, review and analyze results of a farmer survey.
Studies will help the County determine what changes to the zoning ordinance
might be necessary to assist the agricultural community.
Project Title: Planning
for Agritourism and Agribusiness Benefits in Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski
Counties
Applicant:
Giles County – lead applicant, Montgomery and Pulaski Counties
Award:
$35,000
Summary:
Project will develop a strategic plan for agricultural economic development in
the
tri-county region. It
will include interviews/surveys of agritourism operations and agribusinesses,
an inventory of these businesses, policy recommendations, and an economic
impact study.
Project Title: Meat
Processing Facility for Southside Virginia
Applicant:
Halifax County
Award:
$12,500
Summary:
Grant funds will help pay for a professional, third-party feasibility study of
a USDA inspected meat processing facility in Halifax county to serve Southside
Virginia.
Project Title: The
Highland Center Local Food Incubator
Applicant:
Highland County
Award:
$20,000
Summary:
Grant funds will help pay for the renovation and upgrading of a commercial
kitchen at the Highland Center in Monterrey. Specifically, they will be
used to create a temperature-controlled meat processing area in the kitchen
that will allow for the production of value-added meat products under USDA
inspection. This project is the culmination of years of effort to grow
Highland County’s economy by building on its agricultural assets, primarily
livestock. It will complement the County’s recently completed USDA
inspected slaughter facility, by giving producers the opportunity to add
further value to their meat.
Project Title: James City
County Rural Economic Development Strategic Plan
Applicant:
James City County
Award:
$20,000
Summary:
The county boasts many agricultural and forestry assets, and has undertaken a
number of individual efforts to promote them, but never has the County taken a
comprehensive look at how to protect, support and leverage these assets.
The need is particularly important for the County, with development pressures
coming from its east (Williamsburg/Hampton Roads) and west (exurban
Richmond). This effort is just the type of project the AFID Planning
Grants program was designed to engender. It is being led by their Rural
Economic Development Committee, which includes key local government personnel,
local business leaders and agricultural producers). This project could be
used as a model for other jurisdictions under development pressure.
Project Title: Feasibility
Study for Barging Logs across the Chesapeake Bay
Applicant:
Northern Neck Planning District
Award:
$35,000
Summary:
Funds are part of a proposed $100,000 feasibility study to determine the
economic efficiency of utilizing barge transport to bring logs timbered on the
Eastern Shore for milling in Kinsale. Study will be conducted in two
phases with Phase I determining the basic economic feasibility of the project,
especially as compared to extending their current wood basket by truck.
Phase II will develop a detailed proposal for moving forward with the
project. The study seeks to address the timber availability problem faced
by sawmills on the Northern Neck and lack of a robust transportation
infrastructure to otherwise transport timber into the area.
Project Title: Southside
Food Enterprise Center for Production, Marketing, and Education of Value-Added
Food Processing Serving Virginia Farm-Based Producers
Applicant:
Prince Edward County
Award:
$20,000
Summary:
Since 2009, Prince Edward County has been working to provide local food
processing options for area producers, primarily though its existing community
cannery facility. They have completed a feasibility study on developing a
new shared-use kitchen and food-business incubator. AFID Planning Grant
funds will be used to develop an operational plan for this facility. A
separate application to the Tobacco Commission for funding for facility
construction is pending.
Project Title: Vision for
Agriculture and Forestry in Region 2000, 2013-14 Strategic Plan
Applicant:
Virginia’s Region 2000 Local Government Council; includes Amherst, Appomattox,
Bedford and Campbell Counties and Lynchburg City
Award:
$35,000
Summary:
Funds will be used to bring in a consultant to work with the organization and
local partners to develop a regional strategic plan for the agriculture and
forestry components of the region’s economy. The study will include an
inventory of regional agriculture and silviculture assets, SWOT analysis and
will seek to develop a plan endorsed by member jurisdictions.
Project Title: Staunton
Feasibility Study of a Commercial and Shared-Use Kitchen
Applicant:
City of Staunton
Award:
$10,500
Summary:
Funds will be used to help analyze the feasibility of a certified, commercial,
shared-use kitchen and to research and create a replicable business
model. The development of a commercial kitchen was a recommendation from
a recent Community Foods Planning Project. The Project’s key partners,
the City of Staunton and the Staunton Creative Community Fund, have
successfully undertaken other local food development projects and are
developing a suite of services to assist area food entrepreneurs from start-up
through launch. This study will be useful to other communities
considering a commercial kitchen as well.
About the Agriculture and
Forestry Industries Development Fund
The creation of the AFID was
part of Governor McDonnell’s jobs-creation and economic development agenda
during the 2012 session of the General Assembly. Funded at $1 million in
each year of the biennium, the AFID is broken into two categories with $750,000
going to large grants to assist local efforts in expanding current or
attracting new agriculture and forestry processing facilities using
Virginia-grown products (http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/agribusiness/afid.shtml)
and $250,000 dedicated to small grants to assist localities in improving local
economic development efforts relating to agribusiness (http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/agribusiness/planning.shtml).
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