Arkansas Agriculture Department Announces Arkansas Festival Grant Program

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Agriculture Department will administer $45,000 in one-time funding made available to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission for Arkansas festivals featuring an agricultural or forestry product, commerce, or theme and held or proposed to be held on an annual basis. The Arkansas Agriculture Department will accept applications for the Arkansas Festival Grant program from November 1, 2013 to January 24, Butch Calhoun, Secretary of Agriculture for Arkansas, stated “Arkansas festivals are important to the quality of life and the economy in cities and towns across the state. The Arkansas Agriculture Department is pleased to make these funds available to festivals that help promote Arkansas’s agriculture industry, the state’s largest industry which provides more than $17 billion to the state’s economy”. Applicants may apply for a minimum of $1,000 and up to a maximum of $5,000. Grant funds may be used for operating and program expenses and must be spent within one year. The application must be submitted by a city or county. For an application and more information about program requirements, go to www.aad.arkansas.gov/Pages/programs.aspx.