Grants | Choose Iowa

Choose Iowa Grants

Choose Iowa offers grants for Value-Added Agriculture, Dairy Innovation, Butchery Innovation, and Food Purchasing Program - School Edition.

The Choose Iowa Grants exist to identify, evaluate and financially support programs and services that add value to agricultural products, enable new technologies and support alternative marketing strategies. These cost-share grants leverage additional private investment and were created to assist Iowa farmers, businesses and non-profits with their efforts to increase or diversify their agricultural product offerings, expand markets and shorten the supply chain.

Choose Iowa Value-Added Grant

Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants increase sales of Iowa agricultural products by increasing production capacity or expanding market access for value-added projects.

Office Hours

Have questions about the Choose Iowa Value-Added Grant? We will be hosting two different dates for virtual office hours for answering all your questions about the application, grant process, etc. You do not need to be logged in for the entirety of the office hours – stay as long as you need to get your questions answered.

If neither of these time slots work for you, reach out to us at chooseiowagrant@iowaagriculture.gov, and we would be happy to set up something that works for your schedule.

January 3 from 11am - Noon

January 22 from 5pm - 6pm

Highlights:

Maximum awarded up to $25,000 per grant awardee.
Applicants must provide a minimum of one-to-one (1:1) financial match from private sources such as cash, financing or other grant funds for total project costs. In-kind contributions are not accepted.
- Example: An individual applying for a grant of $5,000 must provide at least $5,000 from other sources for a project total of $10,000.
Grant funds are paid out as a reimbursement after grant project(s) are completed.
Projects cannot be in progress before a grant is awarded and must be able to be completed in 12 months or less.

	FY23	FY24	FY25
Funds available to award	$463,000	$463,000	$463,000
Total funds requested	$1,286,217	$1,130,139	TBD
Projects awarded	28	26	TBD
Value of awarded projects	$1,413,952	$1,993,190.47	TBD

Producer Requirements

Must be located in Iowa.
Preference will be given to small and medium-sized businesses. The Iowa Economic Development Authority defines small-sized businesses as having less than 50 full-time employees, medium-sized businesses with 51-250 employees, and large businesses as more than 250 employees.
Membership in Choose Iowa brand program NOT required.

The application period for the Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants closes January 31, 2025 at Noon CST.

Full details and requirements: Choose Iowa Value-Added Grant Guidelines

Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grant

The Iowa State University Center for Industrial Research and Services (CIRAS) is providing free reviews of Butchery Innovation project plans. Although not required, those that have their plans reviewed by CIRAS and include feedback received from CIRAS with their application will receive 3 bonus points. Plans for review by CIRAS must be submitted between Jan. 9, 2025 – Feb. 21, 2025, directly to CIRAS at bdresche@iastate.edu. Then, when you are filling out the Choose Iowa grant application, you will submit your original project plan provided to CIRAS for their evaluation, and the CIRAS feedback provided to you.

Access the CIRAS form here.

You can watch a recording from the CIRAS office hours here.

The Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation and Revitalization Grant was established for the purpose of awarding financial assistance to eligible businesses for the following projects per Iowa Code 2025, Section 15E.370:

Expanding, refurbishing an existing or establishing a new business in the areas of:
- State-inspected or federally inspected small-scale meat processing business.
- Licensed custom locker.
- Mobile slaughter unit that operates in compliance with the most current mobile slaughter unit compliance guide issued by the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Renting or purchasing buildings, refrigeration facilities, freezer facilities, or equipment necessary to expand processing capacity, including projects for:
- Mobile slaughter or refrigeration units used exclusively for meat or poultry processing by a federally inspected, small-scale meat processing business
- Licensed custom lockers.
- Mobile slaughter units.
- State inspected small-scale meat processing businesses.

Highlights	FY25
Total funds available to award	$249,695
Maximum amount awarded per grant awardee	$100,000

Overview

Maximum awarded up to $100,000 per grant awardee.
Applicants must provide a minimum of one-to-one (1:1) financial match from private sources such as cash, financing or other non-federal or non-state grant funds for total project costs. In-kind contributions are not accepted.
- Example: An individual applying for a grant of $5,000 must provide at least $5,000 from other sources for a total project budget of $10,000 or more.
Grant funds are paid out as a reimbursement after grant project(s) are completed.
Projects cannot be in progress before a grant is awarded and must be able to be completed in 12 months or less.

F ull details and requirements: Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grant Guidelines

Choose Iowa Dairy Innovation Grant

The Choose Iowa Dairy Innovation Grant awards financial assistance to eligible businesses engaged in projects that do one or more of the following:

Expand or refurbish existing milk plants or establish a new milk plant.
Expand or refurbish existing mobile dairy processing units or establish new mobile dairy processing units.
Rent buildings, refrigeration facilities, freezer facilities or equipment necessary to expand dairy processing capacity, including mobile dairy or refrigeration units used exclusively for dairy processing.
Incorporate methods and technologies that reduce farm labor associated with milk production and storage, including but not limited to the use of robotics and processes or systems that operate using computerized equipment or machinery.

Highlights

$750,000 available funding
The grants will be awarded to producers to purchase labor reducing technology for their dairy farm and/or on-farm processing equipment.
Maximum awarded up to $100,000 per grant awardee.
- The total amount of grant funding requested may not surpass $100,000 per applicant including both their on-farm processing and labor reducing technology requests.
Applicants must provide a minimum of one-to-one (1:1) financial match from private sources such as cash, financing or other non-government grant funds for total project costs. In-kind contributions are not accepted.
- Example: An individual applying for a grant of $5,000 must provide at least $5,000 from other sources for a project total of $10,000.
Grant funds are paid out as a reimbursement after grant project(s) are completed.
Projects cannot be in progress before a grant is awarded and must be able to be completed in 12 months or less.
Purchases for grant project can begin after the grant agreement is finalized with signatures from the grant recipient and an IDALS representative. Purchases made before this point are not eligible for reimbursement.

	FY24	FY25
Funds available to award	$750,000	$750,000
Total funds requested	$2,670,191.50	TBD
Projects awarded	20	TBD
Value of awarded projects	$2,211,000.24	TBD

Producer requirements

Must be located in Iowa.
Business must be permitted by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Business must employ less than 50 individuals.
Membership in Choose Iowa brand program NOT required.

The Choose Iowa Dairy Innovation Grant application has closed for application for the FY2025 cycle.

Full details and requirements: Choose Iowa Dairy Innovation Grant Guidelines

Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Pilot Program for Schools

Details about the new Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Pilot Program for Schools will be forthcoming. This grant will open in early 2025.

Applications accepted:

Choose Iowa Value-Added Grant is now open for applications. Applications will close January 31, 2025 at Noon CST.
Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grant is now open for pre-application review with CIRAS