The Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development voted during their regularly scheduled meeting to approve a grant for a local Michigan business totaling $150,000. The funds will be used by Quality Roasting, LLC. for a new refinery in Reese, Michigan, to increase their capacity by 30 percent and will have the ability to refine 100 percent of the crude soybean oil they produce into food-grade vegetable oil.
"MDARD is committed to investing in advancing business development and expansion within our food and agriculture industries," said Tim Boring, director, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. "Investments like these create good-paying jobs, support our economic advancement, and showcase why Michigan is a food and agriculture destination."
"The Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development is focused on developing policy and projects which further Michigan s growing food and agricultural sector," said Andy Chae, Chair of the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development. "Projects like Quality Roasting showcase how Michigan s food and agriculture businesses can expand resulting in increased capacity and more employment opportunities within rural areas. Which is a big win for Michigan."
The funding is through MDARD's Food and Agriculture Investment Program, which provides financial support for projects helping to expand food and agriculture processing to enable growth in the industry and Michigan's economy. Each project is selected based upon their impact to the overall agriculture industry and food and agriculture growth and investment in the state.
"We could not be more thrilled with the opportunity to grow our operation in Michigan. The State has and continues to be a great partner in supporting businesses like ours that promote local agriculture," says Erin Davis, President of Quality Roasting. "The addition of the oil purification process will allow us to continue to add value to Michigan soybean producers and provide a locally made ingredient to food manufacturers."
Quality Roasting processes soybeans to produce soybean oil and Exceller Meal®, a feed ingredient in livestock rations. In 2019, they expanded their business to Reese, MI where they were able to find the perfect location that included a high dairy concentration and locally grown soybeans. With this grant funding, Quality Roasting will be creating five new jobs and increasing their production and need for GMO and organic crude soybean oils.
The project will increase the demand of local soybeans by 30 percent. Overall, the new refinery will be designed to produce 9.5 million gallons of food grade vegetable oil per year, requiring roughly six million bushels of local soybeans. The increased demand for soybeans will increase the basis for local producers, adding value to their existing operations.
Source : michigan.gov