Revised
November, 2001
Administration: This Act is administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Ag Promotion and Development Division, State Office Building, 301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509. Telephone: (402) 471-4876. Section 90-527, though not part of the Act, is included for informational purposes.
Adoption: This Act was enacted during the 2000 session of the Nebraska Legislature.
Rules: No regulations have yet been promulgated under this Act.
2-5401 Act, how cited.
2-5402 Legislative findings.
2-5403 Terms, defined.
2-5404 Purposes of act.
2-5405 Grants; how awarded.
2-5406 Grants; eligible recipients.
2-5407 Grants; use.
2-5408 Application process.
2-5409 Reports.
2-5410 Rules and regulations.
2-5411 Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added
Partnerships Cash Fund; created; use; investment.
2-5412 Act, termination.
90-527 Legislative intent.
2-5401. Act, how cited. Sections 2-5401 to 2-5412
shall be known and may be cited as the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships
Act.
2-5402. Legislative findings.
(b) There is a need in such sectors to develop strategies and programs to create genuine economic
opportunities that enable people to improve their incomes, avoid poverty, build assets, and
develop their capacity to contribute to the betterment of their communities;
(c) Strong communities enable local residents to be more self-sufficient, which contributes to the
overall strength and well-being of Nebraska; and
(d) Adding value to agricultural products offers farmers and ranchers the potential to obtain a
larger share of food dollars.
(b) Enhance income and opportunities for farming and ranching operations to stem the decline in
the number of such operations;
(c) Develop strategies and programs to increase the farming and ranching operations' share of the
food-system profit;
(d) Build the capacity of farming and ranching operations and small rural businesses to benefit
from the development of electronic commerce; and
(e) Strengthen value-added enterprises by promoting strategic partnerships and networks through
multigroup cooperation.
2-5403. Terms, defined. For purposes of the
Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act:
(2) Project means any activity in the areas specified in section 2-5407 designed to promote the
purposes specified in section 2-5404. Project does not mean, and grant funds shall
not be used for, any activity primarily designed to contribute to a single business, enterprise, or
individual or designed to subsidize an existing farming or ranching operation; and
(3) Value-added means increasing the net worth of food or nonfood agricultural products by
processing, alternative production and handling methods, collective marketing, or other
innovative practices.
2-5404. Purposes of act. The purposes of the
Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act are to:
(2) Support the development of agricultural communities and economic opportunity through
innovative partnerships among farming and ranching operations, rural communities, and
businesses for the development of value-added agricultural products;
(3) Encourage collaboration between farming and ranching operations and between farming and
ranching operations and communities, government, and businesses as well as between
communities and regions;
(4) Strengthen the value-added production industry by promoting strategic partnerships and
networks through multigroup cooperation for the creation of employment opportunities in the
value-added agriculture industry;
(5) Enhance the income and opportunity for farming and ranching operations in Nebraska in
order to stem the decline in their numbers;
(6) Increase the farming and ranching operations' share of the food-system profit;
(7) Enhance the economic and social viability of rural communities in Nebraska that depend on
agricultural production; and
(8) Enhance opportunities for farming and ranching operations to participate in electronic
commerce and new and emerging markets that strengthen rural economic opportunities.
2-5405. Grants; how awarded.
(2) A minimum of twenty-five percent of the funds appropriated for the act shall be for grants for
purposes specified in subdivisions (1) through (4) of section 2-5404. A minimum of twenty-five
percent of such funds shall be for grants for purposes specified in subdivisions (5) through (8)
of section 2-5404. The remaining funds may be used for grants for any purpose specified in
section 2-5404.
(3) Priority for the awarding of grants within the parameters of this section shall be given to
projects that make the greatest contribution in increasing the number and quality of
self-employment opportunities for farming or ranching operations. The Department of
Agriculture shall also award grants to pilot cooperative efforts for the promotion of value-added
products. The department may recommend projects for recognition by the Governor.
(4) A recipient of a grant shall not receive more than one grant in any one calendar year for the
same project.
(5) Grants shall be awarded on a one-year basis but may be renewed on an annual basis for no
more than three years. The Department of Agriculture, with the necessary assistance provided by
the Department of Economic Development, shall develop an annual performance review process
and a program for grant renewal of approved projects determined to have continued necessary
statewide application and success.
(6) Grant funds shall not be used to replace other funding for the administrative support of the
recipient or the administrative support of the project or for administrative costs relating to the
planning of the project or for any activity primarily designed to contribute to a single business,
enterprise, or individual. Grant funds for a project may be awarded to a cooperative, group,
association, or other entity if the entity is involved in an activity designed to promote
the purposes specified in section 2-5404.
2-5406. Grants; eligible recipients. Eligible entities
for grants under the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act include
communities, counties, agencies, educational institutions, economic development providers,
nonprofit corporations, agricultural cooperatives, agricultural associations, agricultural marketing
associations or entities, resource conservation organizations, development districts, and farming
or ranching operations in collaborative arrangements with other operations, entities, or
organizations that meet the purposes of section 2-5404.
2-5407. Grants; use.
(b) Education and training;
(c) Market development;
(d) Nonadministrative business planning assistance, feasibility and market studies, capitalization
plans, and technical assistance;
(e) Development of cooperatives;
(f) Community and multicommunity initiatives;
(g) Creation, retention, and transfer of value-added agricultural business initiatives in rural
communities;
(h) Efforts to obtain startup or working capital or other capital expenditures necessary for the
development of the project;
(i) Community-based, farmer-owned, or rancher-owned value-added initiatives; and
(j) Other activities that are deemed necessary to fulfill the purposes specified in section 2-5404.
2-5408. Application process. To be eligible for a
grant under the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act, an applicant shall:
(2) Specify measurable goals and expected outcomes for the project for which the grant funds are
requested; and
(3) Specify an evaluation and impact assessment process or procedure for the project for which
the grant funds are requested.
2-5409. Reports. The Department of Agriculture
shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1 listing
the recipients and grant amounts for grants made under the Agricultural Opportunities and
Value-Added Partnerships Act in the previous year, the documented and measurable impacts of
the grants, and an evaluation of the performance of the grant program based on the measurable
goals and expected outcomes of the recipients of such grants. Copies of the program
performance evaluation shall be made available through print and electronic media.
2-5410. Rules and regulations. The Department of
Agriculture shall, with the necessary assistance provided by the Department of Economic
Development, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the Agricultural
Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act. The Department of Agriculture shall
coordinate projects funded by grants under the act with other organizations or institutions
working on similar projects in the state.
2-5411. Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships
Cash Fund; created; use; investment. The Agricultural Opportunities and
Value-Added Partnerships Cash Fund is created. The fund shall be used by the Department of
Agriculture for grants awarded pursuant to the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added
Partnerships Act. Money credited to the fund shall include any monetary gifts, grants,
donations, proceeds from contracts for services, and reimbursement of expenses. The department
shall seek money from sources such as, but not limited to, federal funds, commodity checkoff
funds, private donations, and private grants. All such funds shall be credited to the Agricultural
Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Cash Fund. Any money in the fund available for
investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital
Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act. No funds shall be received or
accepted for the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Cash Fund that are
designated for the purpose or the benefit of a single business, enterprise, or individual.
2-5412. Act, termination. The Agricultural
Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act shall terminate on January 1, 2004.
90-527. Legislative intent. It is the intent of the
Legislature to appropriate:
(b) a minimum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars to grants that promote the purposes
specified in subdivisions (5) through (8) of section 2-5404, and
(c) the remaining funds for grants for any of the purposes specified in such section; and
(1) The Legislature finds that:
(a) There is a serious economic crisis in the agricultural and rural sectors of Nebraska's economy;
(2) The Legislature further finds that there is a need to:
(a) Support self-employment and small-scale entrepreneurship in both agricultural and
nonagricultural activities;
(1) Farming or ranching operation means the active use, management, and operation of real and
personal property for the production of crops or raising of livestock;
(1) Support small enterprise formation in the agricultural sector of Nebraska's rural economy,
including innovative cooperative efforts for value-added enterprises;
(1) The Department of Agriculture, with assistance provided by the Department of Economic
Development, shall establish and administer a competitive grant process to provide grants under
the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act. Grants may be made for up to
seventy-five thousand dollars annually to eligible entities under section 2-5406 that directly
address one or more of the purposes specified in section 2-5404 in the areas specified in section
2-5407 and which meet the requirements of this section and section 2-5408.
(1) Grants under the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act shall be used
to support projects in the following areas:
(a) Research;
(2) Such projects shall demonstrate the ability to provide private new enterprise formation or
expanded incomes and economic opportunities for existing enterprises.
(1) Document a matching amount in money or in-kind contributions or a combination of both
equal to twenty-five percent of the grant funds requested;
(1) One million dollars each year for three consecutive years to fund the Agricultural
Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act, making such grant funds available on and
after January 1, 2001. The Department of Agriculture shall annually allocate
(a) a minimum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars to grants that promote value-added
purposes specified in subdivisions (1) through (4) of section 2-5404,
(2) An additional two hundred fifty thousand dollars each year for three consecutive years to the
Microenterprise Partnership Program, making such funds available on and after July 13, 2000.