Contacts: Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162
Lee Sensenbrenner, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, 608-224-5020
BAYFIELD – Governor Jim Doyle today announced $300,000 in Agriculture Development and Diversification (ADD) grants to support Wisconsin’s innovative agriculture economy. As part of the announcement, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Deputy Secretary Randy Romanski and Department of Administration Secretary Daniel Schooff presented a $20,000 ADD grant to the Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF) in Bayfield, which is working to develop technologies to raise large walleye and hybrid walleye in a single growing season. Deputy Secretary Romanski and Secretary Schooff made the announcement as part of Governor Doyle’s eighth annual “Up North” Tour.
“Diversifying agriculture through creativity and innovation is a key strategy for positioning Wisconsin to move ahead,” Governor Doyle said said. “Wisconsin farms of all sizes succeed, and farmers here are leaders in everything from cranberries to specialty cheese and organic beef.”
ADD grants provide early stage funds for market research and development, new product research and development, and feasibility studies of new technologies and practices. The goal of the grant program is to help identify and develop new profit centers and opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses, and provide information, programs and services that can result in increased income for farmers.
The ADD program was created to stimulate Wisconsin’s farm economy. Based on post-grant surveys, the program has generated more than $108 million in economic returns, including annual sales increases, annual cost reduction, and additional economic returns. Economic activity that has resulted from the success of grant projects includes more than 650 new jobs; more than $40 million in new capital investment; and more than 450 new products developed.
Under Governor Doyle’s leadership, Wisconsin has invested and promoted its diverse agricultural economy, which has now grown to approximately $59 billion annually and is responsible for more than 1 in 10 jobs in Wisconsin. Incentives to help modernize the dairy industry have helped increase milk production to record levels and have strengthened the state’s status as the number one producer of cheese in the country. In addition, Wisconsin is second in the nation in the number of organic farms.
At the same time, efforts to strengthen diversity in agriculture have made Wisconsin a leading producer of cranberries, specialty cheeses, organic vegetables and many other products. To enable successful farming for future generations, the state’s best farmland is protected under the Working Lands Initiative that Governor Doyle signed into law in 2009.
Earlier this year, Governor Doyle signed into law several bills to create jobs and support investment in the state’s agricultural industries. These bills created a food processing tax credit to create investment opportunities for Wisconsin food processing and distribution businesses; extended the dairy modernization tax credits through 2012 to help hard-pressed dairy farmers invest in their operations; and created a Farm to School program to help more Wisconsin schools have easier access to locally grown fruits and vegetables.
In addition to supporting the NADF in Bayfield, the 2010 grants went to:
Efrim Industries LLC, Brown County, $33,500
E&L Harrison Enterprises, Dunn County, $22,500
Agriculture and Energy Resource Center, Inc., Ashland County, $6,200
Semba Biosciences, Inc., Dane County, $44,000
Animal Slurry Pumping, LLC, Rock County, $25,500
Wis. Business Innovation Corp., Washburn County, $30,000
Coulee View Valley Farm, Crawford County, $13,300
RPE, Inc., Portage County, $25,000
Dairy Business Resource, Outagamie County, $35,000
Bancroft Cultured Solutions, Dane County $45,000
For the complete project descriptions, visit: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=20108
