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OCEDaedga 09-22 <br /> <br />Exhibit A <br /> <br />Guidelines <br /> <br />ORANGE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM GUIDELINES <br />Updated September 7th 2022 <br /> <br />Application for Individual Farmers or Collaborative Farmer Projects <br />This program is intended to provide assistance to Orange County farmers in developing new sources <br />of agricultural income through the provision of cost-share grants. Individual grant limit is $10,000. <br />Farmer applicants must be able to demonstrate that their operation is a verifiable farm business <br />(dependable market, track record of sales, sufficient infrastructure and experience, etc.). <br /> <br />Farmer Eligibility <br /> The farm tract and farming operation on which the funds are to be used must be in Orange County <br />in areas zoned appropriately for their use. <br /> Collaborative/Group grants must include at least 3 farmers and may include agricultural groups and <br />agencies. <br /> Applicants and their businesses must not have any past due tax, fee, or fine applicable to Orange <br />County. <br /> Applicant must be current with any existing Orange County Small Business Loan, CROP Loan or <br />Emergency Small Business Loan Payments. <br /> Duplication of benefits prohibited. No individual business or affiliated owner(s) shall receive in <br />excess of $10,000 from Orange County’s Small Business and Large Business Investment Grant <br />Programs, the Agriculture Grant Program, and any other County grant awards over a two year <br />period. Some individual programs may have more stringent restrictions in an effort to spread the <br />funding across as many individual operations as possible. For the Agriculture Grant Program, as <br />noted below in the guidelines, the $10,000 maximum covers a 3-year period. This prohibition <br />includes a situation in which the same owner(s) owns multiple businesses. In such a situation if one <br />or more of the multiple businesses applied for a grant(s) the maximum available to any one or more <br />of such businesses is $10,000. <br /> Individuals who have taken legal action against the County in the past 12-months, or have an active <br />legal case, and who applies for any available County grant program, are ineligible to apply for and <br />receive grant funding through Orange County Government until the settlement or dismissal of such <br />legal action. <br /> <br />Agricultural Grant Subcommittee <br /> The Agricultural Economic Development Grant Subcommittee will be made up of five (5) members <br />including: <br /> The Agricultural Representative from the Orange County Economic Development Advisory Board <br />(OCEDAB), <br /> Two members of the Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board (OCAPB) who are farmers in <br />Orange County (chosen by the OCAPB), <br /> One “at-large” farmer from Orange County, <br /> One “at-large” food system or agriculture business practitioner from Orange County with relevant <br />and beneficial experience <br /> Diversity among the Subcommittee is essential in ensuring equitable management of the Grant <br />Program. Every effort will be made by the existing Subcommittee and support staff to seek qualified <br />members from the categories above to encourage diverse participation with regard to race, <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: CB280B66-C4DC-4D5F-8616-D8B83E5250B1