May 16, 2005

Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester today announced that B & B Farms of St. Louis, Michigan has received a Small Business Pollution Prevention Loan from the Department of Environmental Quality and Thumb National Bank in Pigeon, Michigan. The loan will help B & B Farms purchase liquid manure direct injection equipment that eliminates surface runoff and ponding problems that occur if liquid manure is applied to the soil’s surface. The loan proceeds also fund a high capacity self-propelled sprayer to reduce the use of chemicals on the farm’s 3,400 acres of crops, and allows for precision application to areas of need.

The DEQ and Thumb National Bank each contributed half of the $252,871 loan proceeds that funded the project.

“With this equipment we expect to significantly reduce the amount of commercial fertilizer needed for our crops as well as reduce our agri-chemical use by 25 percent,” says Lee Burk, Co-owner of B & B Farms. “We appreciate the financial assistance provided by the low interest loan program to help us better manage our farming operation.”

Recent legislative changes have increased the size of businesses that can participate in the loan from 100 to 500 employees or less. The maximum loan amounts were also increased from $100,000 to $300,000 with interest rates to borrowers capped at 5 percent. The short application helps businesses describe how their projects will eliminate or reduce waste through source reduction, environmentally sound reuse, and/or recycling; including water and energy conservation projects.

Loans are available to all private business sectors including farming, manufacturing, retail, and service. For more information, contact the DEQ, Environmental Assistance Center at 800-662-9278, or e-mail at deq-ead-env-assist@michigan.gov.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised May 16, 2005 by Pat Watson