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Rural Development State Director Jasper Schneider announced that Dakota Pride Cooperative and Bowdon Meat Processing were selected to receive business development assistance through the Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program.
“This program is an effective way to increase financial returns and boost economic activity in rural America,” said Schneider. “The projects selected will support the efforts of agricultural producers, businesses and families to sell and promote their commodities to local, regional and even foreign markets.”

Dakota Pride Cooperative in Jamestown, N.D. received a $49,000 grant to expand their market reach into South Korea by marketing identity-preserved, non-genetically modified soybeans. Since 1998, Dakota Pride has been creating marketing opportunities for its members by adding value to their crops through an identity preserved marketing system. The cooperative has grown from strictly focusing on domestic markets to capitalizing on opportunities overseas where there is a high interest in knowing where products have been produced.

Bowdon Meat Processing Plant in Bowdon, N.D. received a $49,500 grant to help operate the plant as well as market value-added meat products. The farmer-rancher owned cooperative was formed to open a new state inspected processing facility, replacing a plant that previously closed. Farmers and ranchers will now have a plant to locally process their livestock and also to sell their products to customers for retail re-sale across the state of North Dakota.