CDFA Food and Agriculture Finance Update - January 11, 2022

Having trouble viewing this newsletter? View it online.
CDFA Food and Agriculture Finance Update January 11, 2022	Subscribe View Archives

Features

White House Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat Supply Chain

The Biden-Harris Administration will dedicate $1 billion in American Rescue Plan funds for the expansion of independent processing capacity. USDA reviewed nearly 450 comments received over the summer in response to its request for input on how best to increase independent processing capacity.

Hennepin County, MN Reaches Out to Help Small Businesses During the Pandemic

Hennepin County officials quickly recognized the importance of helping small businesses stay afloat, and used more than $70 million in federal and state recovery funding for small grants to 6,500 businesses, nearly half of which were owned by people of color. Then the county launched Elevate Business Hennepin County, a $1 million program that offers business owners up to 25 hours of free consulting services to help them rebuild and reignite after the pandemic subsides and for the long haul.

New York Gov. Hochul Announces New Tax Relief for Small Businesses

Governor Kathy Hochul announced new efforts to deliver tax relief for thousands of small businesses and millions of middle class New Yorkers as part of the 2022 State of the State. The plan will provide $100 million in tax relief for 195,000 small businesses through increasing a tax return adjustment to reduce small businesses' gross business income. Additionally, the Governor will create new, and increase existing, tax credits to support New York's farms and food production overall.

Puerto Rico Opportunity Zone Fund Makes Investment in Fusion Farms

Monllor Capital Partners LLC announced that the Puerto Rico Opportunity Zone Fund, the first private equity fund focused on ESG investing in Opportunity Zones throughout Puerto Rico, made an investment in Fusion Farms, a company leading Controlled Environment Aquaponics agricultural technology innovation in Puerto Rico.

Illinois Energy Conservation Authority Closes $2.4M in C-PACE Financing for a Hydroponic Vertical Farm Facility

The Cook County PACE Program, administered by The Illinois Energy Conservation Authority, announced that it has closed on $2,470,000 in financing for the first Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) project in Calumet City, Illinois. The C-PACE capital will help fund the conversion of a 135,000-square-foot former Target retail store into Wilder Fields, a commercial-scale indoor vertical farm that will focus exclusively on the growth and sale of pesticide-free leafy greens.

Grand Avenue Market: A 20-Year Quest to Re-establish a Local Grocery Store in Rural Kansas

The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative is a public-private partnership with IFF to improve access to healthy foods by providing access to flexible capital and technical assistance for the development of locally-owned grocery stores. Since its founding in 2017, KHFI has supported 40 projects. KFHI recently provided the critical final source of financing necessary to open a new grocery store in the southwest Kansas community of Plains.

Nonprofit Group Plans Grocery in Downtown Bennington, VT

A nonprofit group has secured a $200,000 loan from the town and wants to open a grocery store. The Bennington Community Market will be a small nonprofit grocery store located in the heart of downtown Bennington that promotes sustainable local agriculture, downtown revitalization, and healthy food for everyone. Total start-up costs for the market will be around $540,000 which will be partially covered with the loan from the Bennington Revolving Loan Fund.

Upcoming Events

CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Forecasting the Bond Market's Response to Federal Infrastructure Investments
Tuesday, January 18, 2022 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern

With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, the U.S. infrastructure sectors are predicting a stable and productive year ahead. Sizeable federal infrastructure investments forecast positive growth. Despite pandemic-related challenges, the municipal bond market is expected to remain resilient in 2022. During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series, we will explore economic insights for 2022, including the impacts of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, the state of the bond market, and an outlook on economic recovery strategies.

Intro Bond Finance Course
February 14-15, 2022 - Daily: 12:00 - 5:00 PM Eastern

The Intro Bond Finance WebCourse provides an in-depth look at governmental and qualified private activity bonds, with a focus on industrial development bonds (IDBs), 501(c)(3) non-profit bonds, exempt facility bonds, and other special bond programs authorized by the federal government.

Food & Agriculture Finance News

>>> VIEW THE FOOD SYSTEMS RESOURCE CENTER
>>> VIEW THE AGRICULTURE RESOURCE CENTER

CDFA Resources

During this installment of the CDFA Federal Financing Webinar Series, officials from the USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service and the HUD Section 108 program discussed opportunities to use their programs for financing rural food systems and agricultural producers.

>>> SEARCH FOOD SYSTEMS RESOURCES
>>> SEARCH AGRICULTURE RESOURCES

The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) is a national association dedicated to the advancement of development finance concerns and interests. CDFA is comprised of the nation's leading and most knowledgeable members of the development finance community representing public, private and non-profit entities alike. For more information, visit www.CDFA.net or email info@cdfa.net.

Council of Development Finance Agencies
100 E. Broad Street, Suite 1200
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 705-1300
info@cdfa.net