The United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development just announced a number of grants, some of which will be used for the development and promotion of alternative fuels.

Agriculture Secretary Michael Johanns today announced the selection of 171 applications from 42 states to receive over $14.6 million in USDA Rural Development grant assistance under the Value Added Producer Grant program.

Some of the energy-related grants include:

The Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board will receive a grant to determine the viability of marketing bio-diesel fuel made by a producer-owned soybean processing plant. Businesses and producers in California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin will receive grants to assess the feasibility of marketing ethanol and bio-diesel, or other types of renewable energy. A total of 32 energy related grants were awarded this year. A complete list of the grants is available on the USDA web site at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

The Value-Added Producer Grant program was authorized by the Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-224) and the 2002 Farm Bill (P.L. 107-171).