Case Studies of Value Added Producer Grant Recipients

• Addison Farms Vineyard Is a business pouring delight to Western North Carolina.
• African Alliance of Rhode Island is a Rhode Island non-profit celebrating and promoting African culture, and improving the lives of Africans living in Rhode Island that includes a Community Gardens initiative.
• Alaska Beauty Peony Co-op creates local agritourism opportunities for Alaska residents.
• Alpine Made is a goat milk product company.
• American Natural Soy toll processes organic soybeans and flax seed into oil and meal. They also organically refine, bleach and deodorize (RBD) canola, sunflower and safflower oils. Product is shipped all over the world.
• The American Turmeric Company in Georgia sprouts health benefits.
• Apple of His Eye Orchard began with Richard Sochacki and his wife of Anderson, of Indiana, when they decided to start an apple orchard just four years ago. With their 320 trees now producing old and new "favorites," their on-site gift shop offers apple products, including their popular apple cinnamon donuts; other seasonal crops; and gift items.
• Avena Botanicals makes herbal remedies using fresh, organic, and biodynamic herbs in Rockport, Maine.
• Balakian Farms, a California organic farm with a vast history.
• Balfour Farm is a community-based dairy, egg, and meat operation located in in Pittsfield, Maine.
• BEEpothecary is an Ohio based business that creates a variety of products from bee propolis, honey, and beeswax.
• Big Picture Farm is a family-run goat dairy and farmstead confectionery in Townshend, Vermont.
• Black Ankle Vineyards is distinguished as the first estate winery in Maryland. Guided by their research, owners Sarah O’Herron and Ed Boyce are determined to create wines with the complexity, subtlety and nuance of the great European wines.  
• Blue Ridge Food Ventures, located in Asheville, North Carolina, is a shared-use, value-added food processing center that serves food entrepreneurs throughout western North Carolina.
• Boothby's Orchard & Farm Winery is family farm among the rolling hills around Livermore, Maine. This multi-faceted business venture includes u-pick operations, wine tastings, special events, and romantic getaways.
• B and E's Trees, Wisconsin Maple Farm focused on value adding efforts.
• Burroughs Family Orchards produces nuts using regenerative practices.
• Buzz Savories is an apiary making honey, beeswax products and spicy mustard in Nebraska. 
• Champoeg Farms is a turkey farm who found success with USDA VAPG grant
• Cherry Valley Organics has experimented with many types of vegetable, herb, and flower offerings, who have been certified organic "since the beginning."
• Chili Pepper Ranch is a 400 acre wagyu beef farm and retail operation in Tennessee.
• Cloverdale Growers Alliance, in Dunn Center, North Dakota, is a producer-oriented firm raising and selling hogs to Cloverdale Foods. Cloverdale Growers Alliance has had many valuable members throughout the past fourteen years. 
• Cordi Winery, a vineyard branching out with VAPG funds.
• Crosswind Energy LLC was formed by ten producers in northwest Iowa who banded together to explore the idea of erecting turbines on their own farms.
• Crystal Prairie, LLC - In 2016, Crystal Prairie was awarded a Value Added Producer Grant to increase their sale of grass-fed beefalo through direct mail and targeted advertising practices.
• Cylon Rolling Acres is a goat meat farm to suited to growing demographics.
• Dakota Lamb Growers Cooperative was started nearly ten years ago, with an idea to market lamb meat to the consumer. Soon after the company formed, they switched gears and went from marketing commodity lamb to natural lamb to differentiate themselves from other companies.
• Dream Apple Farm is an organic orchard committed to tradition.
• DX Beef is a family-owned, grass-fed beef ranch in the heart of the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation.
• Eden Farms founder Kelly Biensen of State Center, Iowa, can say his specialty pork business has been profitable every year since its beginning. Factors at play in the commodity pork industry in 2008 are creating some new hurdles for the specialty producers, however.
• Emerson Vineyards has been growing grapes in Oregon since 2002 with distribution of product in 10 different states. The Johns family uses organic solutions as much as possible in their growing process.
• F. Teldeschi Winery is a winery nestled in Sonoma County's wine country, is a family-owned business that sells 95 percent of its grapes to local wineries in the area with the remaining grapes used to produce small quantities of their high-quality wine sold throughout the world.
• Farmers’ All Natural Creamery, located in Wellman, Iowa, began with the idea of taking hard-to-market milk from local farmers with special circumstances, processing it and meeting the needs of a growing consumer demand for natural and organic products.
• Farmers Brewing Company has been crafting beer in Princeton, California and uses VAPG funding for advertising to attract new customers
• Farmers Cooperative, with 406 Class A members, is a full-service agribusiness providing grain marketing, chemicals, feed, fertilizer and petroleum. It handles #2 yellow corn and soybeans.
• Farmer's Daughter Vineyards is owned by a third-generation farming family that previously grew mostly cotton and peanuts but they began growing wine grapes in 2014 and opened the vineyard in 2015.
• Farm Life Creamery is a family owned creamery in South Dakota that operates the only small bottling plant in the state of South Dakota to bottle their milk.
• Feltz Family Farms processes cheese curds in Wisconsin.
• Fessenden Cooperative Association started in the early 1940s in Fessenden, North Dakota. The Cooperative’s primary services include receiving and shipping wheat, corn, pinto beans, sunflower and soybeans.
• Freeman Vineyard and Winery is located in California's West Sonoma County and Russian River, close to one of the largest tourism attractions in the state - the Golden Gate Bridge
• Fuzzy Udder Creamery works with goat, sheep and cow milk to make a variety of cheeses in Whitefield, Maine.
• Garcia Farms is in its infancy stage, but Scott and Robert have begun laying the groundwork for future growth, starting with what was familiar – chickens. This time around, it was also a matter of economics.
• Gentz Cattle Company raises registered Texas longhorns on their land near the Gulf Coast. In addition to selling cattle for recreational purposes, James has diversified, processing some of their cattle into beef to be sold at area farmers markets.
• Golden Grain Energy is a privately-held company dedicated to adding value to northern Iowa’s corn production by turning locally-grown corn into clean-burning ethanol.
• Goodson Pecans is a multi-generational family business that offers a variety of pecans and pecan products including shelled raw pecans, gourmet pecans, and specialty pecan nut butters.
• Gothberg Farms, LLC is a small goat dairy in Bow, Washington that makes goat cheese and processes a variety of value-added foods.
• Grassland Beef, launched in 2001, prides itself on providing grass-fed beef that is "nutritious and health-enhancing." Testing at two independent facilities has validated this Missouri company's claim; their beef contains high amounts of conjugated linoleic acid.
• Greenglade Goat Milk Specialties began when Diana McCown of Martell, of Nebraska, opened a licensed goat dairy and began selling goat cheese. A decade later, McCown expanded her business to include a cheese plant, which was completed in 2008. 
• Heartland Nuts ‘N More is a Valparaiso, Nebraska-based cooperative of 44 native black walnut and pecan growers from Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. Founded in late 2003, the co-op purchases products from its members, then processes and bags the nuts to be sold nationwide.
• Heavenly Creations produces an extensive line of gourmet jams, jellies, syrups, baking mix and toffee are sold in specialty food stores, supermarkets and other retail outlets throughout the United States.
• Herbal Revolution is a product line of tonics, elixirs, and teas available for customers to help with a myriad of health benefits that are drawn from the herbs and vegetables inside them.
• Hickory Hill Milk began in 2015, Hickory Hill Farm received a Value Added Producer Grant to meet customer demand of their milk processing operation.
• Hickory Nut Gap Meats uses holistic farming mindset with his historical origins
• Hilmar Cheese Company is located in California's fertile Central Valley in Hilmar, California, and has grown to be the largest single-site producer of natural American-style cheese and whey products in the world. They recently located a new facility in the Texas Panhandle in Dalhart, Texas.
• Home Place Pastures is a fifth-generation livestock farmer in the rural countryside of Como, Mississippi.
• Honey Creek Creamery is an award winning milking goat farm that also offers goat yoga. Located in Honey Creek, Iowa, the operation has been a certified milking goat dairy since 2010.
• Janie's Mill is an organic flour mill in Illinois who have a mix of commercial and retail customers.
• Jisa Farmstead Cheese was started in 2005 when David and Bonnie Jisa launched a commercial cheese operation, a response to difficulties in the dairy industry brought on by a drop in milk prices.
• Jubilee Orchards began in 2016, Jubilee Orchards received a Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) to support the expansion of their organic high bush blueberry juice and other various lines of juice concentrate.
• Jumpin' Good Dairy was able to utilize a VAPG grant and establish an expanded marketing program with five new cheeses.
• Keene Garlic is a small family farm that grows specialty crop and sells their product nationwide through their website.
• Kilby Cream began when the Kilby family turned a commitment to dairying, community and quality into a delicious value-added business. Kilby Cream opened for business in 2005 on a Kilby farm near Rising Sun, Maryland. Their focus is premium ice cream.
• Kitsap Fresh is a Washington-based online farmers market has been known as a positive link between the producer and consumer.
• Lani's Lana has been farming sheep for nearly three decades. With their VAPG grant they have been able to form a solid yarn making business rather than just selling the raw clip.
• Little Vine Vineyards and Winery began in Georgia, when they received a 2016 value added producer grant.
  • Updated Profile done by the University of Arkansas.
• Lodi Winegrape Commission was funded in 1991. The Commission serves to raise awareness of the Lodi - Woodbridge winegrape production region among "influentials" -- the wine trade, the press and consumers and to provide growers with information, materials, education and strategies directed at profit improvement.
• MaxYield Cooperative is a 93-year-old, 100 percent farmer-owned cooperative that handles grains (soy, corn), agronomy products, seed and energy (LP, gas). 
• Mellano Farms is a flower farm at a pivotal crossroads - facing both thorny challenges and budding opportunities in San Diego County, California. 
• Midwest Elderberry Cooperative is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is a supplier of native North American elder flower and berry ingredients using environmentally and socially sustainable practices.
• Muse Vineyards with a focus on blended wines in Virginia, they are sure to stand out.
• New South Produce Cooperative is a cooperative in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 2017, New South Produce Cooperative of Arkansas received a grant allowing them to invest in marketing that would support the production of Arkansas farmers.
• The Olive Grower’s Council formed in 1978 due to a large influx of new plantings on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley in California. That year, the processors told the growers that they would only give them the price to cover harvest – nothing for the cost of the product itself. In response, the olive growers got together to figure out a strategy for the future.
• Oregon Woodland Cooperative is a cooperative of woodland owners.  Since 1981, this cooperative has been working together to improve, manage and market products from the forest.
• Pacific Coast Producers is a California processor of fruits and tomatoes. Pacific Coast Producers energized new product and marketing ideas with two sucessful Value Added Producer Grant proposals, one in 2014 and one in 2012.
• Page Springs Cellars is an Arizona vineyard that offers not only the wines they make, but also a bistro-style menu, yoga classes, and more. They even host an annual festival every summer called "Tilted Earth Wine and Music Festival".
• Park Ridge Organics is a "female strong" business with a customized share program
• Paso Robles, known for its exquisite Cabernet, is facing a period of profound change. 
• Pedroncelli Vineyard & Winery is a family owned and operated winery since 1927 and offers a large variety of wines sold throughout the United States.
• Peaceful Harvest Mushrooms specializes in growing mushrooms produced into health-based products in Vermont
• Picket Fence Creamery is a family-owned and -operated dairy farm and country store in Woodward, Iowa.  The farm, owned by Jeff and Jill Burkhart, utilizes 80 acres. Using rotational grazing, the 80 Jersey cows produce milk that is pasteurized on site and bottled or made into value-added products such as ice cream or cheese.
• Pivo Brewery is a brewery, tap room, art studio and event center in Calmar, Iowa.
• Ralston Family Farms is a rice growing farm between the mountains of the north-central Arkansas River Valley.
• Round Mountain Creamery fosters a culture of passionate goat farmers
• Salad Days Produce specializes in growing hydroponic lettuce varieties in Mississippi
• San Xavier Co-op Farm received a boost to their Farm's Milling Facility Gets Boost through the USDA VAPG
• Shipley Farms - In 2016, Shipley Farms in Vilas, North Carolina received a Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) to support the farms wholesale business to local restaurants and butchers.
• Singing Pastures is leading a regenerative movement in Maine.
• Springbank Farm is a blueberry farm in Linn County, Oregon, using a VAPG award to study the feasibility of making and selling blueberry wine.
• Star Bright Farm creates herbal beauty experienced through the senses
• Straight Arrow Bison raises bison and focuses on sustainability on their farm in Nebraska
• Stensland Creamery is a two-time VAPG grant recipient with a product development focus - and pizza! 
• Sugarloaf Mountain - When the four children of Dan and Polly O'Donoghue of Maryland inherited their parent's farm, they converted it into a vineyard/winery. Within two years of opening, the business had already won two “Best of Class” Awards for their premium dry wines.
• Sunenergie - Patrick Van Haren launched Sunergie in 2003 out of a desire to bring marketing expertise to the agriculture sector and the renewable energy industry. After weathering several setbacks over the years, the company is now prepared to put $200 million in assets into bioenergy and compost production.
• Sun-Maid - 2009 has about 1,000 grape raisin growers. Sun-Maid is one of the most recognized trademarks in the today’s crowded marketplace. Consumers associate the brand with natural and nutritious dried fruit products
  • Sun-Maid - 2015
• Sunsweet Growers Inc. used their VAP grant to go towards their new product "D'Noir Prunes" and "Plum Amazins".
• Taylor Fish Farm Partnership is a fish farm located near Cedar Grove, North Carolina, that produces 250,000 pounds of tilapia annually.
• TerraVox Wine takes historically overlooked grape varietals traditionally grown in the Midwest, and reintroduces them to today's public through wines crafted with modern protocols.
• Texas Citrus Mutual, a trade association representing Texas citrus growers, was founded 50 years ago to market the industry on behalf of its members. More recently, the association has focused on production issues, launching a first-in-the-nation tree insurance program and combating citrus greening and other diseases and pests.
• Texas Olive Ranch - More than a decade after planting his first trees, Jim Henry finally harvested a crop from his 60-acre olive orchard and manufactured the first and only Texas-made olive oil, all of which was sold before it was ever bottled.
• Three Guys Farms was armed with an idea about producing and serving foods and a relatively small financial boost from the USDA Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program, Serge Bukhman and his two partners Alex Notov and Igor Shchiglik are doing what they set out to do: Disrupt the generally expected business models for small scale agriculture.
• TMX Creamery in Canby, Oregon is a dairy cow operation that produces cheese to be sold on the farm, in restaurants, and in grocery stores.
• Trinity Valley Dairy is a family-owned and operated dairy in central New York.
• Upper Red Fork Innovations was looking for a way to add value to their hard red winter wheat, Tami and David Buss and their family of Hunter, Oklahoma, went back to an old family recipe to try to retain some of the value of their crop. 
• The Valley Fig Growers cooperative began in 1959 and is now the largest fig handler in the United States. With 20 grower members, approximately half of the dried figs harvested in California go to market through Valley Fig Growers.
  • Valley Fig Growers Successfully Launch California Fig Spread Products, Aided by USDA Grant
• Value Added Products (VAP) Cooperative was started in 2000 with “the idea and a group of 25 wheat farmers who were looking for ways to increase the value of the wheat they grow.”
• Valuable Lessons Learned in USDA VAPG Alabama Dehydration Plant Project - In 2016 Bon Secour Valley Ingredients (BSVI), Foley, Alabama, launched a facility to dehydrate unused (often below-grade) field crops and create powders/flours that could increase nutritional value in many foods.
• Vande Rose Farms LLC was formed in 1999 from a base of three farm families: The Van Gilst, De Bruin and Rozenboom families. All are producers in Mahaska County in Iowa. They trace roots and a bond back more than 150 years, when the first-settler families were immigrants from Holland, coming to the state to farm the land and share work and lives.
• The Victory Garden Farm is a farm located in Wisconsin growing a variety of heirloom vegetable varieties, herbs, and flowers. 
• Walters’ Pumpkin Patch started out as farming and ranching business for Carroll and Becky Walters. In 1998, the Walters decided to try to grow pumpkins as a business, and Walters’ Pumpkin Patch began to take shape.
• Western United Dairymen (WUD) is a trade association with voluntary membership. With 1,100 of the state’s dairies as members, they represent approximately 60 percent of the milk production in California. Membership benefits include resources in labor law, environmental regulations and pricing issues.
• When Pigs Fly Farm is a multi-faceted operation in Mount Vernon, Washington focused on providing fruits, vegetables and herbs for their Community Supported Agriculture membership.
• Whitestone Mountain Orchard fuels the bodies of students by supplying the company's organic fruit to Washington-based universities and schools.