State grants to support local food, ag production

ESCANABA -- Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Tim Boring announced new state investments that will support local food and agriculture processing, build new infrastructure and expand access to healthy foods.

The announcement took place Thursday at the Upper Peninsula State Fair in Escanaba.

“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 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, including a pair in Marquette County, support the following six projects across the U.P.:

• 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.