Corn Commentary

Iowa Offers Value Added Grants

The Iowa Corn Promotion Board is reactivating its Value-Added Grant Program to provide financial assistance to farmer-owned cooperatives, businesses, groups and individuals interested in establishing value-added corn-based businesses.

Iowa Corn Promotion Board“We’ve used these grants in the past for ethanol plant feasibility studies, a pilot project to turn PLA into milk bottles, marketing and business plans on distillers grains use as fertilizer, a project to test burning corn gas in corn dryers, and legal work to evaluate permits for livestock operations,” said Jerry Main, a grower from Fairfield and chair of the ICPB’s industrial usage committee.

Both new and established ventures are eligible for grants to pay for feasibility studies, business plan development, marketing plan development, engineering studies, legal fees and equity drives. Recipients can receive up to $25,000 on a 50-50 matching basis.

The application form is available on-line at the ICPB site. Completed applications will be evaluated by the Iowa Corn Industrial Usage & U.S. Production Committee, which will score them on criteria that include technical factors, business factors, management, potential economic impact on Iowa, viability, and risk.