Food and Agriculture Investment Fund Grants

The Food and Agriculture Investment Program provides financial support for food and agriculture projects that help expand food and agriculture processing to enable growth in the industry and Michigan's economy. Projects are selected based on their investment in the overall agriculture industry and their impact on Michigan's food and agriculture growth. Eligible applicants include small, medium, and large food, agriculture, and forest product companies, as well as others investing in or expanding food, agriculture, or forest products operations in Michigan. Projects are evaluated on several criteria including overall impact on the agriculture industry, impact to the agricultural supply chain, job creation, creation of greater efficiency in the food and agricultural sector, filling a gap in the food or agricultural supply chain, dollars leveraged from private sector investment, and specific outcomes and performance metrics identified. Potential projects for consideration go through an application process with the MDARD Economic Development team member for their region. The Economic Development team works with potential projects to complete a preliminary application. A team at the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development reviews preliminary applications to determine if the project is a good fit for the program. Projects approved to move forward will complete a full application that is reviewed and either approved or denied by the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development.