Aug. 20, at the Upper Peninsula State Fair, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Tim Boring announced new investments that will support local Michigan food and agriculture processing, build new infrastructure, and expand access to healthy foods.
Of the 20 grants, 14 affect the northern region of the state, including the Upper Peninsula.
Northern Michigan
Eight northern Michigan food and agriculture businesses will share $638,055, the largest regional share in the round, split between beverage production and cold storage.
Cellars at Royal Farms in Ellsworth received $100,000 for cider filtering, finishing, carbonating, bottling and kegging equipment, and Elder Piper LLC in Petoskey received $94,734 to convert its brewery and cidery from a taproom into a rural manufacturing hub with fermentation vessels, a packaging system, a quality control lab and distribution equipment.
For cold storage, Sleeping Bear Farms in Beulah received $60,000 for a blast chiller to process and freeze locally grown produce for Meals on Wheels and medically tailored meal programming, and Great Lakes Lamb LLC in West Branch received the round's smallest award, $25,471, for refrigerated transportation and six upright freezer units to store direct-to-customer meat inventory.
Three growing and processing awards round out the region: Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. in Scottville received $100,000 for growing containers to produce 30,000 pounds of mushrooms per week. Bear Creek Organics LLC in Petoskey received $98,361 for a soil steamer, supplemental lighting and smart automation. Finally, Morgan Composting received $100,000 to install a hammer mill that will process Michigan agricultural waste into pelletized fertilizer.
Harrand Hill LLC in Buckley received $59,489 to build a farm store expanding its inventory beyond produce, eggs, spices and dehydrated goods to include locally made butter, grains, honey, hot sauces and pottery.
Upper Peninsula
Six Upper Peninsula projects will share $584,753, the second-largest regional share in the round, with most of the money going toward cold storage and refrigerated distribution. First Catch LLC in L'Anse received $100,000 to design and install a self-contained refrigerated fish processing facility on tribal land to support year-round commercial fishing, value-added processing and direct retail sales. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Baraga received the same amount for refrigerated transportation and improved food distribution across the region.
BigGoat Farm in Houghton will use its $100,000 to open the Keweenaw Peninsula's first licensed Grade A goat dairy. Peace Pie Company in Marquette received $84,753 for bakehouse improvements to expand production and increase sourcing of Michigan-made ingredients. Two additional awards went to Superior Culture LLC in Marquette, for a taproom addition that will consolidate production at a single site, and S&L Lumber Co. in Iron River, for modernizing the sawmill's primary breakdown line.
Mid-Michigan
Two mid-Michigan projects received $100,000 each. Devereaux Sawmill Inc. in Pewamo will install a fully integrated production line to enable continuous processing of logs from debarking to packaging, eliminating manual transfers and production interruptions.
The second award went to N18 Cabaret Trail LLC in Saginaw to construct nine energy-efficient town homes for workforce housing—the only project in the 20-grant round not tied to food, agriculture or forest products.
Southeast Michigan
Achatz Handmade Pie Co. in Chesterfield received the round's only southeast Michigan award, $93,290 to install packaging equipment. MDARD says the equipment will expand the company's production capacity and increase the quantity of fruit, vegetable, meat and dairy ingredients it sources from Michigan farmers. The release does not specify the equipment type.
Southwest Michigan
Southwest Michigan's single $100,000 award went to an economic development organization rather than a producer. The Greater Bridgman Area Chamber and Growth Alliance received the grant to support a greenhouse and patio expansion at Emma Hearth & Market, which MDARD says will expand sustainable food production, create local jobs and give residents year-round farm-to-table access.
West Michigan
Two west Michigan producers will share $151,712, both for fruit and vegetable handling. New Era's American Asparagus Packing received $100,000 to install a new fresh-packed asparagus line, buy scales and packaging equipment, and make electrical and plumbing upgrades. Annabelle Acres Vineyard & Winery in Hart received $51,712 to expand production capacity, improve processing efficiency and strengthen quality controls — an investment MDARD says will help the winery meet market demand, procure more Michigan-grown fruit and create jobs.
