Washington, D.C. (RI) — The U.S. Ag Department’s Rural Development Agency has approved grants for several Iowa projects, including one in Sioux County.
Iowa director Mike Sexton says $1.4 million is going to Iowa State’s Agricultural Marketing Resource Center for value added grants.
Sexton says a lot of the grants go to help with marketing the special products.
Sexton says six loans to co-ops were made through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program.
He says the co‑ops receive a zero‑interest loan, which they then pass through to the entities carrying out the projects.
The Corn Belt Power Cooperative received a $952,000 loan for Kinetic Technologies to support construction of a new manufacturing facility in Algona. The project is expected to create eight new jobs.
Central Iowa Power Cooperative received a $1 million loan to pass through to Continental Manufacturing Chemist in Huxley. The company will purchase equipment and software to help expand its custom packaging business, and the project is expected to create 100 new jobs.
The Southern Iowa Electric Cooperative received a $1 million loan to provide to TSM Holding/M3 Fabrication. The funding will be used to purchase new powder‑coating equipment and build a 56,000‑square‑foot expansion to house the company’s powder‑coating operations in Bloomfield. This project is expected to create ten new jobs.
Heartland Power Cooperative and Osage Municipal Utilities each received a $1 million loan to pass through to A to Z Drying in Osage. The company will purchase a 234,000‑square‑foot production and warehouse facility to expand its customized spray‑drying business. The project is expected to create 19 new jobs.
The North West Rural Electric Cooperative received a $1 million loan for Hemp Agra to purchase equipment for its industrial hemp processing facility in Rock Valley. This project is expected to create 20 new jobs.
KIWA Staff Photo
