SBA Women’s Month USDA Rural Development Value Added Grant, Laurette Tucker

Farmers and ranchers, are you interested in taking your operation to the next level with value-added product? If so, the Value Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG) may be right for you! The VAPG is an excellent financing resource as it provides grant funds for economic planning activities or eligible working capital expenses. Funding enables viable agricultural producers to develop businesses that produce and market value-added products and to create marketing opportunities for such businesses.

Laurette Tucker serves as a Rural Business Specialist for USDA Rural Development. In this capacity she conducts marketing, processing, and servicing activities for the programs and services of the Rural Business-Cooperative Programs division. More specifically, she provides these duties for the Value-Added Producer Grant, Socially Disadvantaged Group Grant, Rural Cooperative Development Grant, Rural Energy for America Program, and the Advanced Biofuel Payment Programs. She received her formal education at Virginia Commonwealth University.