MDARD Announces Grants Focused on Economic Development, Small Business Infrastructure

ESCANABA, Mich.—Today at the Upper Peninsula State Fair, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Tim Boring announced new investments that will support local food and agriculture processing, build new infrastructure and expand access to healthy foods. Fourteen of the 20 grants being announced will impact the northern region of the state, including the Upper Peninsula.

"MDARD is making bold investments in Michigan's food, agriculture and forestry economy to help expand production, create new jobs and improve quality of life for Michiganders,"  said MDARD Director Tim Boring. "Today's grants support businesses whose growth will create economic opportunities throughout our state, increasing demand for local farm and forest products and giving families more access to nutritious, Michigan-grown foods."

The grants support the following 20 projects across Michigan:

Northern Michigan

• Bear Creek Organics LLC (Petoskey) - $98,361 for purchasing a soil steamer, supplemental lighting and smart automation to enhance the farm s soil health and enable the farm to grow more food in the same amount of space.
• Cellars at Royal Farms, LLC (Ellsworth) - $100,000 to help purchase equipment for filtering, finishing, carbonating, bottling and kegging cider.
• Elder Piper LLC (Petoskey) - $94,734 to help transform the craft brewery and cidery s facility from a taproom into a rural manufacturing hub. This project will include purchasing fermentation vessels, a packaging system, a quality control lab and distribution equipment.
• Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. (Scottville) - $100,000 to help purchase growing containers necessary to produce 30,000 lbs. of mushrooms each week.
• Great Lakes Lamb LLC (West Branch) - $25,471 to help purchase refrigerated transportation and six upright freezer storage units to safely store direct-to-customer meat inventory.
• Harrand Hill LLC (Buckley) - $59,489 to help construct a new farm store that will enable the business to expand its inventory beyond fruits, vegetables, eggs, spices and dehydrated goods to include locally made butter, grains, honey, hot sauces, pottery and other wares.
• Morgan Composting, which does business as Dairy Doo (Sears) - $100,000 to help acquire and install a hammer mill that will further process Michigan agricultural waste into a consistent, pelletized fertilizer product for farmers.
• Sleeping Bear Farms (Beulah) - $60,000 to help purchase a large blast chiller to process and freeze locally grown produce for incorporation into Meals on Wheels and Medically Tailored Meal programming.

Upper Peninsula

• BigGoat Farm (Houghton) - $100,000 to help open the Keweenaw Peninsula s first licensed Grade A goat dairy. The new dairy will serve as a production hub and visitor destination.
• First Catch LLC (L Anse) - $100,000 to help design, prepare and install a fully functional, self-contained refrigerated fish processing facility on tribal land to support year-round commercial fishing, value-added processing and direct retail sales.
• Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (Baraga) - $100,000 to help acquire refrigerated transportation and improve food distribution capabilities across the Upper Peninsula.
• Peace Pie Company (Marquette) - $84,753 to support bakehouse improvements that will boost production, expand product range and increase procurement of Michigan-made ingredients.
• S&L Lumber Co LLC (Iron River) - $100,000 to help modernize the sawmill s primary breakdown line, which transforms logs into boards and other materials. The project will boost throughput, reduce downtime and increase accuracy.
• Superior Culture LLC (Marquette) - $100,000 to help construct an addition to the taproom that will consolidate all production operations at a single site while expanding food and beverage service capacity.

Mid-Michigan

• Devereaux Sawmill, Inc. (Pewamo) - $100,000 to help install a fully integrated production line that will enable continuous processing of logs from debarking to packaging, eliminating production interruptions and manual transfers.
• N18 Cabaret Trail, LLC (Saginaw) - $100,000 to help construct nine affordable, energy-efficient town homes for workforce housing.

Southeast Michigan

• Achatz Handmade Pie Co. (Chesterfield) - $93,290 to help install packaging equipment that will enable the company to expand production capacity and increase the quantity of fruit, vegetable, meat and dairy ingredients that they source from Michigan farmers.

Southwest Michigan

• Greater Bridgman Area Chamber and Growth Alliance (Bridgman) - $100,000 to support Emma Hearth & Market's greenhouse and patio expansion project, which will help expand sustainable food production, create local jobs and offer residents a year-round farm-to-table experience.

West Michigan

• Annabelle Acres Vineyard & Winery LLC (Hart) - $51,712 to help expand production capacity, improve processing efficiency, enhance quality controls and strengthen sustainable vineyard management. This investment will enable the company to meet growing market demand, procure more Michigan-grown fruit and create jobs.
• New Era's American Asparagus Packing, LLC (New Era) - $100,000 to help install a new fresh-packed asparagus line, procure scales and packaging equipment and make electrical and plumbing upgrades.

Since Fiscal Year 2019, MDARD has awarded more than $276 million in grants to help Michigan businesses and communities invest in local food production, build infrastructure and strengthen the state s food, agriculture and forestry economy.

Visit MDARD's grants web page for more information about food and agriculture grant opportunities.

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