The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) awarded over $1.8 million of Underserved, Value Added and Regional Food System Grants to 26 Michigan producers, processors and community development organizations, including one in Lapeer County on Thursday, September 18.
Stony Croft Farms of Mayfield Township was awarded $44,413 for installing new milling equipment. The new equipment will increase the farm’s value-added grain production capacity and meet growing customer demand for locally milled grain products, generating one full-time and one part-time job.
The farm, which is owned by Doug Hodge and operates on over 110 acres of land, produces flour from their homegrown, non-GMO grain.
The farm produces buckwheat, red wheat, white wheat, all purpose and spelt flour as well as corn meal products, with the project possibly helping them as they expand their product line to include other wheat flours, barley flour, rye, einkorn and oat flour in the future.
