Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced Friday that USDA has selected 298 recipients in 44 states and Puerto Rico to receive business development assistance through the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program.

The grants total more than $40.2 million. According to a USDA news release, grant money may be used for feasibility studies or business plans, working capital for marketing value-added agricultural products and for farm-based renewable energy projects.

Eligible applicants include independent producers, farmer and rancher cooperatives, agricultural producer groups, and majority-controlled producer-based business ventures.

Recipients include:

California

Curds & Whey Farmstead Dairy, Cedarville, $48,000

Pacific Coast Producers, Lodi, $300,000

Farm Fresh Solutions, Half Moon Bay, $21,192

Delta Blue Blueberries, Manteca, $49,000

Rosa Brothers Milk Company, Inc., Hanford, $300,000

Blue Diamond Growers, Sacramento, $300,000

Ingel Haven Ranch, Potter Valley, $44,000

California Dairy Campaign, Turlock, $100,000

Sonoma County Vintners, Santa Rosa, $300,000

Hog Wild for Organic Pork, Chico, $67,500

Bohemian Creamery, Sebastopol, $100,000

Top O' the Morn Farms, Tulare, $300,000

Arburua Enterprises, Inc., Stockton, $35,000

Nishimori Family Farms, LLC, Oxnard, $226,284

Sunsweet Growers, Inc., Yuba City, $300,000

Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association, Livermore, $208,504

Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Davis, $45,475

Idaho

Colter's Creek Winery, Inc., Juliaetta, $25,000

Moss Produce, LLC (Arrowhead Potato), Rupert, $300,000

3 Horse Ranch Vineyards, LLC, Eagle, $30,000

Clover Leaf Creamery, LLC, Eagle, $300,000

Idaho's Bounty Co-op, Inc., Ketchum, $55,180

Fish Processors Inc., Ketchum, $300,000

Oregon

Bogdan Caceu, Portland, $12,125

Wrigley Family Ventures, McMinnville, $49,999

Fairview Farm LLC, Dallas, $49,264

Seely Family Farm, Clatskanie, $163,013

Zena Forest, LLC, Rickreall, $130,750

Daedalus Cellars Co., Dundee, $49,005

Sokol Blosser, Ltd., Dundee, $49,999

Carman Ranch, Wallowa, $18,050

Seaview Cranberries, Inc., Sixes, $49,999

Deck Family Farm, Junction City, $300,000

Coleman Vineyard LLC, McMinnville, $49,824

The Continental Shelf, Inc., Rickreall, $49,999

Goldin Artisan Cheese, LLC, Moalla, $10,410

Michael Steven Mega, Dundee, $49,992

Oregon Coastal Flowers, LLC, Tillamook, $100,000

Champoeg Creek Farm, Saint Paul, $49,990

Morale Orchards, LLC, Hood River, $39,909

Stoller Vineyards, Inc., Dayton, $49,792

Queen Bee Honey Company, Corvallis, $30,824

Southern Oregon Winery Association (SOWA), Medford, $22,550

Wild Wines, LLC, Jacksonville, $93,572

Rainshadow Organics, Terrebonne, $49,999

Red Hill Vineyard, Oakland, $24,400

Washington

Gateway Milling, Almira, $99,425

Little Farms, LLC, Centerville, $49,726

Belle Wood Acres, Inc., Lynden, $150,000

Northwest Agriculture Business Center, Mount Vernon, $300,000

Tachira, LLC, Olympia, $300,000

Melissa Moeller, Everson, $38,367

Skagit Fresh Natural Beverage Company, Mount Vernon, $49,900