Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Initiative — FY2027 Service Provider & Producer Association Grant offers competitive financial-assistance grants to organizations that strengthen Vermont’s agriculture, food, forest, beverage, and fiber sectors through business-support services or producer-association development.
Funding and application dates
The Vermont program page states that up to $225,000 is available for all awards combined. The minimum individual award is $10,000; no fixed individual maximum award is published. Do not treat the $225,000 total pool as an applicant award. No matching funds are required. Applications opened September 17, 2026 and are due November 5, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.; the program page does not separately specify a time zone. Applicant notification is expected in early January 2027. The project period is approximately 15 months, generally March 2027 to May 2028.
Eligible applicants and activities
Eligible service providers are organizations offering business support to Vermont agricultural and forestry businesses. Eligible producer associations are industry organizations representing and promoting Vermont agriculture, food, beverage, forest, or fiber products. Organizations generally should be based in Vermont; an organization headquartered elsewhere may qualify if its proposed project focuses entirely on Vermont’s working landscape and businesses, subject to administrator consultation. The program page permits multiple organizational structures.
Potential projects include technical assistance, market and sales development, business and financial planning, disaster preparedness, succession planning, access-to-capital support, manufacturing-process improvements, research and development, and workforce development. Producer associations may also propose leadership, membership, governance, communication, and cross-association collaboration projects. Specific budget allowability and attachment requirements are controlled by the FY2027 Request for Applications.
How to apply
Read the current FY2027 Request for Applications and apply through Vermont WebGrants. Allow up to two business days for registration. The Working Lands program advises requesting only the amount needed to complete a viable project. Application questions may be directed to the administrator identified on the official grant page.
Source and verification status
Official FY2027 Service Provider & Producer Association Grant page (reviewed October 12, 2026). The published program page establishes the key facts above, but the separately linked controlling RFA attachment was not independently accessible during this research review. Detailed submission forms, budget restrictions, and any RFA amendments therefore still require full attachment-level verification before protected publication approval. This record is a research draft, not an assertion of final QA clearance.