February 24, 2009

LANSING, Mich.- The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) today issued the Agriculture Innovation Grant Report highlighting the innovative financing assistance to nearly 40 processors, producers, agri-businesses, local units of government and legislatively-authorized commodity boards in Michigan.

"The jobs and investment generated by the funding of these projects in 27 counties yielded benefits for the entire state," said Don Koivisto, MDA director. "Michigan's $71.3 billion dynamic agriculture industry is ripe with innovation and with continued investment and policy support, potential exists for greater economic development and job creation.”

The Agricultural Innovation Grants are part of an aggressive effort to spur growth in several economic sectors and is a key component of the 21st Century Jobs Fund. The 21st Century Jobs Fund is a $2 billion, 10-year initiative proposed by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, approved by the Michigan Legislature, and administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to accelerate the diversification of Michigan's economy. MDA received authorization from the state Legislature for $10 million and has issued $5 million in grants.

Grants from the Agricultural Innovation Fund, also known as the Julian-Stille Value-added Program, are competitive and designed to establish, retain, expand, attract or develop valued-added agricultural processing and related production operations in Michigan. Currently, legislation is pending approval before the Legislature to issue grants in the upcoming year.

In 2006, MDA received a total of 225 grant proposals with requests totaling more than $36 million. The proposals were evaluated and scored based upon: economic impact on the community; economic impact or enhancement to agricultural product and/or service; amount of project innovation or initiative; clarity of project proposal with specific and measurable outcomes; and management team experience and expertise. Categories for grant awards included: Technical Assistance, Facility Improvements, Market Research/Development, Business Plan Development, and Facility/Land Purchase or Construction.

Eligible applicants for the grants included individuals, farmer-owned cooperatives, commodity boards, partnerships, limited liability companies, private or public corporations and local units of government. Applicants were also required to provide a cash match of ten percent for eligibility.

For more information or to view an electronic copy of the report, please visit www.michigan.gov/mda.

Read the full Agriculture Innovation Grant Report here.