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LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has launched a "2024 Industry Input Survey" asking for feedback for its upcoming grant programs next year.
The results will help shape program priorities that better reflect the needs of Michigan's food and agriculture industry, MDARD stated in a news release. The survey closes Dec. 20.
"Collaboration is key within MDARD. We want to hear directly from those impacted by our programs and learn how we can best grow Michigan's food and agriculture sector together," MDARD Director Tim Boring said.
In addition to the online survey, Boring is hosting industry stakeholder input meetings in December. Those meetings include:
-- Monday, 2 p.m. Eastern time via a virtual Microsoft Teams meeting;
-- Wednesday starting at 1 p.m. Eastern time in Shed 5 of the Eastern Market in Detroit.
The new grant programs launching next year includes more than $10 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program and $1.8 million in state dollars for supporting Michigan's food and agriculture supply chains.
Additionally, MDARD received $2.9 million for a new program aimed at helping minority-owned food and agriculture ventures in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. The department is working to build out this new program to support and expand minority food and agriculture businesses throughout Michigan.
The RFSI program is designed to build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, provide more and better markets for Michigan's small farms and food businesses, support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, fair wages, and job creation.
Funds will support expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, including specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry.
For more information on current MDARD grant programs, go online to www.michigan.gov/mdardgrants.