Agritourism Grants for Michigan

Michigan Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Association

• The Michigan Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Association, founded by Farmer's Bureau in 2005, seeks out grants and funding for agritourism initiatives. Its membership is open to any agricultural business that acts as a destination, whether that is a winery, a corn maze or an on-farm gift shop. Ken Nye, horticulture and forestry specialist with Michigan Farm Bureau, wrote in a press release about the founding of the organization, "With the tourism base we have and the diversity of agriculture in this state, we believe that people are looking for the rural experience. It has entertainment value, and if the association can help people join forces and work together, it will be better for everyone." The organization focuses on seeking grants and money to benefit all of its members.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture

• The Michigan Department of Agriculture administers a wide range of grants to support Michigan agriculture. Some of these grants are available specifically for agritourism efforts. One grant source is the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, which will award money to, among other things, programs that promote agritourism in specialty crops. Past project money has gone to create agritourism directories, sponsor events and promote agritourism businesses.

Michigan Farm Marketing and Agri-Tourism Association

• The Michigan Farm Marketing and Agri-Tourism Association exists to promote Michigan's agricultural heritage and help agri-tourism businesses to promote themselves as a destination. As part of their mission to help agricultural tourism thrive, they promote their members in a statewide directory and help members to connect with each other. They also help members seek grants and network with state and national organizations to help generate funding and promotion opportunities.

Ag Innovation Grants

• The State of Michigan administers an agricultural innovation grant program that has set aside $10 million to help Michigan's food and agriculture industry. The grant money is available to provide innovative assistance to all agriculture-related businesses, including agritourism. The grant categories include technical assistance, facility improvements, market research, business plan and new acquisition of facility or land. While many of the grants have gone to help innovate growing methods and research, one example of an agri-tourism grant was a $147,339 grant to Sawyer to purchase a point-of-sale to help gather information about their customers. This led to double-digit sales growth, which let them hire a chef to do demos every weekend, expanding their agritourism activities.