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 impact to the overall agriculture industry and their impact to food and agriculture growth and investment in Michigan. Key evaluation criteria include overall impact on the agriculture industry, impact to the agricultural supply chain, job creation, efficiency improvements, filling supply chain gaps, and private sector investment leverage.

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.

The application process begins by engaging the MDARD Economic Development team member for the applicant's region. The team works with potential projects to complete a preliminary application. MDARD reviews preliminary applications to determine fit. Projects approved to move forward complete a full application, which is reviewed and either approved or denied by the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development.