The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has awarded 30 Choose Iowa Value-Added grants worth $500,000 to farmers, small businesses and organizations across the state. Recipients were eligible for up to $25,000 in cost-share funding per project. The grants will support equipment purchases, processing upgrades, refrigeration, transportation, farm stores and other projects aimed at expanding production of Iowa agriculture products. Since the Value-Added grant program launched in 2022, it has awarded more than $2.14 million in state-funded cost-share for 130 projects, generating more than $7.3 million in total investment statewide. The full list of grant recipients is available online.