MDARD’s Farm to Family Program Announces Grant Recipients Focused on Regen Ag

Funding will support infrastructure, marketing needs to bolster regenerative value chains

LANSING, Mich. – Today, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MDARD) Farm to Family Program is announcing its latest grant recipients. The Regenerative Value Chains Grant Program focuses on expanding operations and market opportunities for farmers who are just starting out or want to broaden their impact and are using regenerative agriculture practices. 

“Science-driven land practices consistently deliver better outcomes, which is why we’ve put such a big emphasis on regenerative agriculture at MDARD,” said MDARD Director Tim Boring. “These latest grants from our Farm to Family team build on the program’s groundbreaking efforts to expand access to fresh, healthy food for more Michiganders while creating new market opportunities for farmers and growers dedicated to feeding their communities. We want new and beginning operations to be able to thrive in Michigan, and state-level support can help make that happen.”

The Regenerative Value Chains Grant recipients use agricultural practices that improve soil health, such as employing cover crops to prevent erosion and retain moisture and integrating livestock into farm operations to help nutrients cycle through the soil. The 14 grant recipients span both peninsulas:

Upper Peninsula

• Yooper Country Farms, LLC (Alger County) – $24,964 to install temperature‑controlled cold storage to increase capacity to harvest and hold refrigerated vegetables and extend the market season for storage crops through the fall and winter.
• Whispering Wild Market Farm (Houghton County) – $27,529 to establish an on‑farm store and expand dry storage capacity to increase farm production, sales, and profitability.

Northern Michigan

• Harbor Springs Vineyard & Winery (Emmet County) – $50,391 to invest in updated IT and point‑of‑sale systems to improve operational efficiency of the Farm Store and expand access to and awareness of Michigan regenerative agriculture products.
• Weinrich Farm (Grand Traverse County) – $50,500 to invest in cold storage infrastructure to expand production of regeneratively raised poultry products in northern Michigan.

West Michigan

• The Woven Trifecta (Muskegon County) – $50,430 to expand production capacity by installing a new four‑season wash-pack facility to meet growing demand, improve sustainability, and prioritize food safety.
• The Pasturage, LLC (Muskegon County) – $50,380 to expand marketing and on‑farm infrastructure through website development, improved product labeling, farm store enhancements and A Greener World certification to increase customer volume and profitability.
• Tortoise & Hare Farm (Muskegon County) – $33,624 to upgrade their wash‑and‑pack area and farm stand by adding a self‑service kiosk with extended hours to increase access to farm‑fresh produce within the community.
• Campbell Crossing Farm (Mason County) – $31,946 to build a dedicated wash‑and‑pack facility to improve efficiency, extend product shelf life, reduce post‑harvest losses and expand market opportunities through improved product quality and food safety.

Central Michigan

• JNelson Farms (Midland County) – $50,500 to install additional solar energy, battery storage and backup generation to provide reliable power to the farm and cold storage facilities and prevent product loss during energy outages.
• Thornton Agriculture (Osceola County) – $50,390 to create a new on‑farm sales area and improve the overall customer experience by spreading awareness of regenerative agriculture and serving as a community connection point.

Southwest Michigan

• Silly Goose Acres (Allegan County) – $46,530 to invest in on‑farm cold storage and infrastructure to expand market opportunities for regenerative products and improve farm advertising and visibility.
• Willowbrook Farms (Cass County) – $50,500 to convert a pole barn into a Farm Stop retail space, expanding market opportunities for producers and increasing the availability of regenerative agriculture products for the community.

Thumb Region

• Dream Again Gardens (Tuscola County) – $9,091 to invest in washing, drying and refrigeration infrastructure to increase production capacity, improve post‑harvest efficiency and expand the availability of locally grown regenerative produce.

Southeast Michigan

• Green Things Farm Collective (Washtenaw County) – $50,499 to improve produce storage, distribution, post‑harvest processing and sales infrastructure to expand market opportunities within the local community.

This is Farm to Family’s fourth grant opportunity since the program launched in Fiscal Year 2025. The program’s first grant – Food Hubs and Farm Stops – was awarded last summer to support food hubs and farm stops across Michigan in increasing local food reaching community markets. In May 2026, Farm to Family awarded Last Food Mile grants to help Michigan food producers invest in refrigerated transport. And in August 2026, the program announced Farmers to Markets grants to help local growers boost sales at Michigan farmers markets.

MDARD’s Farm to Family Program continues to receive national attention for the work it’s doing to connect small and medium farmers, growers and agribusinesses with more local market opportunities – thus ensuring Michiganders have more access to food from their own communities.

Last December, the program launched the Good Food for Michigan project, which prioritizes assisting Michigan institutions like school districts, community colleges and hospitals with obtaining healthy food grown by Michigan farmers and producers in an effort to ensure the thousands of meals served each day provide healthier options for students, community members and patients across the state.

MDARD’s Regenerative Agriculture Program, another bipartisan initiative started under Governor Whitmer’s leadership, is working to give Michigan farmers the tools needed to improve their soil health and their bottom line. Among other actions, the program has created a free soil health assessment program for farmers, introduced grant programs to promote regenerative agriculture implementation and launched a Next Generation Crop Insurance Pilot to lower costs and boost farm resiliency.  More information on regenerative practices can be found on the program’s webpage.

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