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Farm News: 10 Good Ideas - $300,000 In GrantscommentsPosted: 08.24.2010 $300,000 in Agriculture Development and Diversification (ADD) grants were announced on Monday to support some good ideas on ways to expand agribusiness in Wisconsin’s. Deputy Ag Secretary Randy Romanski said the 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. 10 proposals received funding in this round. Here's a brief outline of what each project hopes to achieve.
Efrim Industries LLC, Brown County, $33,500: Producing Biomass Fuel Briquettes from Dairy Manure
This project will help to verify and validate the use of a three-phase manure drying system to transform animal manure into a biomass briquette. The project will include the field and lab testing to optimize the three phase drying system, R& D to determine the optimal uses of the briquette and bioproducts and a financial feasibility study. E&L Harrison Enterprises, Dunn County, $22,500: Consistent Quality Pork: A Local Meat Processor Pork Demand & Source Analysis This project is to determine the potential for adding value to Wisconsin-produced pork through a system that provides Consistent Quality Pork to local meat processors/retailers. The goal is gather information and support necessary to develop a controlled production and delivery system focused on genetics, nutrition, animal health and well-being, including adherence to Pork Quality Assurance and Transportation Quality Assurance standards. The intent is to add value at the pork producer, processor, retailer and consumer levels by leveraging and meeting growing consumer demand for quality, locally raised food products, as well as positioning both pork producers and processors to take advantage of that potential growth, especially should interstate sales of state-inspected meat products become permissible. Agriculture and Energy Resource Center, Inc., Ashland County, $6,200: Developing malting Grade Barley Production in Northwestern Wisconsin The project will conduct a replicated performance trial for different varieties of barley to determine the variety or varieties best suited for cultivation for brewer's malt production in Northern Wisconsin. Semba Biosciences, Inc., Dane County, $44,000: Isolation of Antiviral Compounds from Cranberries Using a Novel Separation Process This project will determine the feasibility of using simulated moving bed chromotography technology to isolate antiviral compounds from cranberries. The project may expand utilization of Wisconsin cranberry crops and apply new technology to create value-added nutraceutical compounds from agricultural products. Animal Slurry Pumping, LLC, Rock County, $25,500: Development and evaluation of engineered ion-selective electrodes to be used with a manure pumping system The project will design, fabricate, test and implement an onsite system for measuring ions, especially nitrate and ammonium, in manure being pumped into the soil. This will be done by attaching ion-selective electrodes (ISE) to our pumping system. The principal investigators will compare results obtained from this system with results from a certified soil-testing lab and will publish the results of the trials and if the methods are successful, to recommend them to other firms and farmers using manure injection or spreading. Wis. Business Innovation Corp., Washburn County, $30,000: HEATReeT Wood Technology Enterprise The primary purpose of the project is to assess the technical and economic feasibility of creating a HEATReeT Wood Technology Enterprise, in northwestern Wisconsin, to research and develop thermally-treated wood. Thermally treating wood provides an ecologically friendly and safe process to improve the mechanical and physical performance of wood products. This will add value to Wisconsin’s northeastern hardwoods and softwoods by creating high-value applications for underutilized and low-grade wood, including basswood, aspen, soft maple, balsam, and pine. The HEATReeT Wood Technology Enterprise would test and develop methodologies for heat treating Wisconsin woods to meet specifications for regional and statewide wood product manufacturers for new, higher-value wood applications and would produce small lot market-development wood product prototypes. Coulee View Valley Farm, Crawford County, $13,300: Feasibility Study for a Local Southwest Wisconsin Facility for Sustainable and Organic Poultry Processing This project plans to complete a comprehensive feasibility study to assess the viability of creating a small poultry processing plant in southwestern Wisconsin. Steps included in the feasibility study process will include: on-site evaluation of current poultry facilities; an infrastructure study; a market assessment; and a southwest Wisconsin sustainable poultry summit. RPE, Inc., Portage County, $25,000: Commercial evaluation, promotion and marketing of Wisconsin specialty potato varieties The primary purpose of this project is to consolidate efforts made by UW-researchers, growers and industry to commercially evaluate, promote and market specialty potato varieties coming from the Wisconsin Potato Breeding Program. Russet Potato Exchange (RPE Inc) will work to identify a subset of specialty potatoes for market value based on nutritional analysis, taste panel and consumer preference work. Dairy Business Resource, Outagamie County, $35,000: Environmental Safeness, Cost Saving, and Superior Bacterialcide, Viralcide, and Fungicide of Electrolyze When Applied to Cow’s Teats This project will test the application of CS-3 (hypochlorous acid/ozone) as a teat dip and substitute for current iodine-based dips. The proposed project will help fund an initial proof of concept work involving two 14-day trials. If successful, the business plans to advance to a larger 30 day/300 cow trial. Bancroft Cultured Solutions, Dane County $45,000: Feasibility of Small Scale Methane Digesters for Dairy Whey or Dairy Whey Permeate The goal of this project is to develop innovative and economically viable, small scale methane digesters for sustainable utilization of cheese whey and whey permeate, a common by-product of cheesemaking. The benefits include: an important carbon footprint reduction, mitigation options for the new stringent phosphorus discharge requirements (pending), cost savings, a renewable and relatively clean supply of methane to directly offset fossil fuel utilization and noteworthy reductions in business liability through the reduction of land application volumes, BOD loading and tightening environmental regulations. |