Four Texas Companies Win USDA Grants Totaling $662,500

6/7/10—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced recipients of USDA Rural Development grants intended for business development assistance and job creating in rural American and agriculture sectors. Four Texas businesses were among the announcements.

The biggest Texas grant winner is J. Berry Nursery (Capstone Plants, Inc.), a wholesale plant provider in Grand Saline, TX, which was awarded $300,000. Not far behind is Austin’s Microbial Earth (Rangeland Restoration & Improvement, LLC), with $250,000.

Microbial Earth will use the grant for its value-added hay production program in which it converts local hay and weed crops into high-value humidified compost and a compost tea extract called Buffalo Tea.

The other two Texas winners of the matching funds grants were Green Gate Farms ($87,500) an urban farm on the outskirts of Austin, and Minze Agriculture Partnership ($25,000) in Katy, Texas.

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