LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Dept. of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has announced a new grant it’s calling the Farm Innovation Grant Program.

“At MDARD, we’re constantly working to develop programs to bolster our food and agriculture sectors across Michigan while encouraging them to innovate and modernize,” said MDARD Director Gary McDowell. “The new Farm Innovation Grant Program is an excellent example of how we continue to develop state-of-the-art solutions to our industry’s immediate and future needs. The success and sustainability of our food and agriculture industry is key to moving Michigan forward.”

The grant is different from other state grant programs in that it is very open-ended, according to Jamie Zmitko-Somers, director of the agriculture development division at MDARD. Each grant can be for as much as $200,000. The plan is to disburse around $1.5 million total during this funding round, she said. The total amount available for this grant program is $3 million. It’s unclear whether or not there will be future funding for the program once the total is spent.

“The funding isn’t as much as we’d like, but we’re hoping it will have an impact,” she said. Among other issues, Zmitko-Somers pointed to the need for more labor in agriculture as a real sore point. “There’s certainly a struggle with getting labor to do these jobs,” she added. The farm innovation grant proposals will be evaluated through a competitive selection process.

Applicants will be asked to outline how the project will impact and produce measurable innovation outcomes for Michigan’s food and agriculture industry.

There are four broad areas that MDARD would like to address: 

Climate smart practices, which MDARD describes as new innovative technologies that will work to mitigate the effects of climate change to Michigan commodities and lead to climate resiliency for the industry. Examples of this could include ways for farmers to use less fertilizer, or ways to reduce fertilizer runoff.

Supply chain resiliency, which is described as anything that strengthens and expands Michigan’s food supply chain, including equipment, new technology and research. 

Food processing and farm production automation, which is innovative research and technology to assist with automation where acquiring workforce to fill positions is a challenge. 

Rural resiliency: these would be projects that strengthen the ability for rural communities to support farm and food processing. 

MDARD is also encouraging applications that don’t fit into any of these categories.

Michigan legislative counsel Rebecca Park said that a group of agricultural stakeholders has been meeting for some time to talk about issues affecting agriculture and, she said, labor was right at the top of the issues discussed. “The way I read it, this grant is an open book,” she said. “Is there an idea out there that’s going to make things easier? What’s the next big thing for ag? How do we take that to the next level? That’s what this grant is for.”

Individuals are not eligible for a grant, unless they are paired with an institution, Zmitko-Somers said. These includes universities, colleges, community colleges, technology incubators and research centers. Anyone interested in applying for a grant should visit http://www.michigan.gov/mdardgrants to view the application and grant guidelines. Proposals must be received no later than 3pm on Oct. 27.