Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP)

Read the Request for Proposals carefully before completing an application.
Completed proposals must be submitted to Ryan Dunn at ryand.dunn@wisconsin.gov. All documents must be included in a single PDF or word file. 

Jarret Miles-Kroening

Organic and Specialty Crop Program Contact

The Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin (BLBW) program seeks to increase awareness and consumption&#x2004;of locally produced foods and related products and to increase the production and improve the distribution of foods and related products for local consumption. The Buy Local Buy Wisconsin Grant program is an economic development program designed to help the Wisconsin agricultural and food industry find ways to improve food production, processing, marketing, and distribution with the ultimate goal of expanding Wisconsin’s local food system. BLBW grant funds are administered by the Division of Agricultural Development at the Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (DATCP). 

DATCP may award grants to individuals or organizations to fund projects that are designed to increase the sale of Wisconsin agricultural or food products to local purchasers. This includes grants for projects to create, expand, diversify, or promote any of the following:

- Local food marketing systems and market outlets. 

- Local food and cultural tourism routes. 

- Production, processing, marketing, and distribution of Wisconsin food products primarily for sale to local purchasers. 



The Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin (BLBW) program seeks to increase awareness and consumption of locally produced foods and related products and to increase the production and improve the distribution of foods and related products for local consumption. The Buy Local Buy Wisconsin Grant program is an economic development program designed to help the Wisconsin agricultural and food industry find ways to improve food production, processing, marketing, and distribution with the ultimate goal of expanding Wisconsin’s local food system. BLBW grant funds are administered by the Division of Agricultural Development at the Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (DATCP). 
DATCP may award grants to individuals or organizations to fund projects that are designed to increase the sale of Wisconsin agricultural or food products to local purchasers. This includes grants for projects to create, expand, diversify, or promote any of the following:
- Local food marketing systems and market outlets. 
- Local food and cultural tourism routes. 
- Production, processing, marketing, and distribution of Wisconsin food products primarily for sale to local purchasers. 

Eligible Applicants include:
- Individual independent producers selling locally
- Individual independent processors using WI ingredients that make up 51% of their product by weight
- Groups of independent producers
- Farmer/Rancher Cooperatives
- Grower Associations
- Schools and institutions
- Food service operations
- Non-profits

A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

A payment that requires some percentage of matching contributions by the recipient.

Cost Share

- FY 2026 BLBW Request for Proposals
- ​Grant Application

Trade Relief

Local Food

Farmers Market

Certification

Distribution

Diversification

Events

Trade Show

Certified Organic

Marketing

Food Systems

- Budgets must show at least a 1-to-1 funds match. 
- Project must be completed within 24 months after contract is signed by DATCP. A no-cost extension of up to one year is available upon request and is granted at the discretion of DATCP. 
- Requests must be between $5,000 and $50,000. 
- Primary beneficiaries are Wisconsin agriculture products based businesses 
- Private farms or agribusinesses applying for funds must be selling at least 51% of their agricultural products locally. Value-added food businesses, or processors must be purchasing, or growing at least 51% of their product (by weight) ingredients locally. 
- If you have received funding from the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin Grant program within the last four years, you are not eligible to apply. 
- If you currently have any grant with DATCP’s Division of Agricultural Development you are not eligible to apply (this includes Specialty Crop Block Grants and Dairy Processor Grants). 
- Dairy processors looking for grant funds should apply for DATCP’s Division of Agricultural Development’s Dairy Processors Grant.

Cycle 5 (award years 2027-2028) is open, in two steps.

1. Intent to Apply, due December 18, 2026. This is mandatory. Send the Intent to Apply form, outlining your project basics, to Monica Schauer or Megan Blauwet at UW. Any later change to the pre-approved design must be approved by UW's NOPP Research Director before you submit the final application.
2. Final application, due January 15, 2027. Submit Part 1 (narrative) and Part 2 (budget and work plan) electronically to DATCPNOPP@wisconsin.gov.

The RFP, Intent to Apply form and application parts are on DATCP's NOPP Application and Grantee Information page.

Susan Mockert

DATCP NOPP Program Manager

Monica Schauer

Research Director (UW)

Megan Blauwet

Outreach Specialist (UW)

Grants from Wisconsin DATCP to agricultural producers developing innovative commercial-nitrogen optimization practices, carried out with a University of Wisconsin monitoring partner.



- The agricultural producer must be an individual farmer or a group of farmers.
- The project design must run for at least two years; longer-term projects get priority.
- The producer must collaborate with the Universities of Wisconsin (UW) and allow DATCP and UW project staff access to the trial site for the whole project.
- The project cannot currently be funded through other state or federal programs.
- A producer may be the grant applicant for one grant project per cycle.
- To site a project on land you don't own, you need the landowner's permission.
- The applicant can be a producer, an independent crop consultant, a nonprofit, a county conservation department, or another organization or individual working with farmers, but not a UW employee.

Fertilizer

Waste & Manure Management

Weeds

Trials

Inputs

Nutrient Management

Research

Award. The maximum award depends on the project option, per producer:
- Nitrogen Response Trial: up to $40,000
- Zero-Synthetic Nitrogen Test Strip: up to $6,000
- Reduced Nitrogen Rate: up to $6,000
- Custom Nitrogen Research: up to $10,000

Several producers can join one application; for example, a Nitrogen Response Trial with two producers may apply for up to $80,000. Applicants don't need to budget for UW's monitoring and research support, which DATCP funds separately.

Fine print. Awards are for a two-year project unless the contract says otherwise. Nitrogen Response Trials and Zero-Synthetic Nitrogen Test Strips must include a zero lb-N/acre treatment. Funding is not final until all parties sign the contract, and DATCP may hold payments until all required reports, data and surveys are submitted.

Route — your county office hands you the CREP application. DATCP does not take applications itself and publishes no form to download. Its instruction: "Landowners interested in enrolling in CREP should contact their county land and water conservation office or local Farm Service Agency office." The program brochure is more specific still, under the heading Enrollment: "Contact your county USDA Farm Service Agency, NRCS office, or your county land conservation office for a CREP application. A site visit will be completed to discuss with you the specific lands you want to enroll and what practices you would like to install." So there are three doors — county land conservation, FSA, or NRCS — and any of them can start you.

Expect a site visit, not a paper round. The visit is where you and the office settle which acres go in and which practice gets installed. Come to it having decided which enrollment option you want: "Enrollment options are either a 15-year agreement or a perpetual easement."

Find the office. County land and water conservation departments: https://wisconsinlandwater.org/members-hub/members . Wisconsin FSA offices: https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=wi&agency=fsa .

Check eligibility before you call. DATCP states land is eligible if it "Is in one of the 52 Wisconsin CREP counties," "Has a history of crop or pasture use," and "Is within 150 feet of a ditch, stream, lake or wetland (or 1000 feet, for the Grassland Project Areas)." The brochure adds one more test for part of the state: land "Is considered highly erodible for practices in the southern grassland area." The project-area map is at https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents/CREPProjectAreaMap.pdf and the brochure at https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents/CREPBrochure.pdf — the brochure also names the practices you can choose from, by code (filter strips CP21, riparian buffers CP22, grassed waterways CP8a, wetland restoration CP23, marginal pastureland wildlife habitat buffers CP29; and in grassland project areas only, CP1, CP2 and CP25). A longer practices list is at https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents/CREPPractices.pdf . To size the money first, DATCP publishes a spreadsheet: "Use our payment calculator to estimate the payments you could receive" (https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents/CREPPaymentCalculator.xlsx).

Timing — no deadline or sign-up window is published. Neither the DATCP CREP pages nor the brochure names a due date or an enrollment period; the published route is simply to contact your county office and ask for an application. Because CREP runs through the federal Conservation Reserve Program, ask the office whether a federal sign-up period applies to the practice you want.

Who to ask at the state level. Brian Loeffelholz, brian.loeffelholz@wisconsin.gov, (608) 224-4632; Stacy Tierman, stacy.tierman@wisconsin.gov, (608) 224-4633. DATCP main line (608) 224-5012, 2811 Agriculture Dr., P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911.

Brian Loeffelholz

CREP Program Contact

For Wisconsin agricultural landowners along rivers and streams who enroll filter strips, riparian buffers, or wetland restorations. Pays installation cost-share plus an upfront incentive and annual soil-rental payments; perpetual easements are also available. Co-administered by DATCP with USDA FSA and county land & water conservation offices.



Agricultural landowners with eligible acreage along rivers/streams. Filter strips can be as narrow as 30 feet, with no minimum acreage.

Payment per unit of land to do or avoid certain practices related to land management.

Easement

Air Quality

Carbon Capture

High Tunnel

Landscape

Regenerative

Soil Health

Wildlife & Pollinator Habitat

Certified Grassfed

Cover Crops

Reduced Tillage

Water Management

Combines installation cost-share, an upfront sign-up incentive, and annual soil-rental payments — roughly $2,900 lifetime value for 15-year contracts, or about $4,200/acre for perpetual easements on tilled land.

First-come, first-served. Applications for the 2026/27 program are expected to be available December 2026.

Wisconsin DATCP — Cover Crop Insurance Rebate

A Wisconsin DATCP rebate that reduces a farmer's crop-insurance premium bill by up to $5 per acre for verified cover-crop acres.



Wisconsin farmers with verified cover-crop acres who carry crop insurance. Acres already enrolled in EQIP, CSP, or another state cover-crop cost-share program are ineligible.

Conservation

Up to $5 per acre rebate on the crop-insurance premium bill. Program pool is roughly $800,000 per year, covering about 160,000 acres.

The application form is located on the DATCP website and below.
Read the Request for Proposals carefully before filling out the application.
Applications must be emailed to ryand.dunn@wisconsin.gov by 5:00pm on Monday, January 30, 2022. 
If you do not have computer access to download and complete the application, contact Ryan Dunn at 608-590-7239

Ryan Dunn

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection administers a Dairy Processor Grant program whose goal is to foster innovation, improve profitability and sustain the long-term viability of Wisconsin’s dairy processing facilities.


Eligible applicants must operate a licensed dairy&#x2004;processing plant in Wisconsin engaged in pasteurizing, processing or manufacturing milk or dairy products. Recipients are chosen through a competitive process. A total grant up to $50,000 is available per dairy processor per year. The dairy processor is required to provide a match of at least 20 percent of the grant amount.


Grant applications are customized by each processor and can be used to hire consultants to address a wide range of business needs including food safety, staff training or modernization.



The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection administers a Dairy Processor Grant program whose goal is to foster innovation, improve profitability and sustain the long-term viability of Wisconsin’s dairy processing facilities.

Eligible applicants must operate a licensed dairy processing plant in Wisconsin engaged in pasteurizing, processing or manufacturing milk or dairy products. Recipients are chosen through a competitive process. A total grant up to $50,000 is available per dairy processor per year. The dairy processor is required to provide a match of at least 20 percent of the grant amount.

Grant applications are customized by each processor and can be used to hire consultants to address a wide range of business needs including food safety, staff training or modernization.

Applicants must satisfy the following criteria to be deemed eligible for funding under the Dairy Processor Grant Program. An applicant must: 
- Operate a licensed dairy processing plant engaged in pasteurizing or manufacturing dairy products, or processing dairy products into other dairy products, for sale or distribution that is located in WI 
- Have a project(s) that will make operational improvements, improve profitability, and/or involve a new process or innovation 
- Have no outstanding state penalties or violations and be in good standing with Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions 
- Employees of Wisconsin DATCP and immediate family members (i.e. mother, father, brother, sister, spouse, and children) are not eligible to receive a grant 
- Entities with a current, open DATCP Dairy Processor Grant cannot apply for funding to further the same project
Eligible Projects
- The DATCP Dairy Processor Grant is designed to provide access to services and resources for proposed dairy processing plant projects that enhance or develop the current business, solve an existing problem or concern at the plant, improve production or profitability, and/or help the processor innovate. 
Eligible Expenses
Eligible project expenses include, but are not limited to: 
- Operating expenses directly related to the grant project, including expenses for salaries and wages, contract and consulting services, and *travel. (*all travel reimbursements must follow state rate requirements.) 
- Training costs to improve employee skills (eg. food safety, skills for operating new technology, managerial training, etc.) 
- Equipment rental 
- The purchase of supplies that the full value is ordinarily depreciable within one year and costs less than $5000 (software, etc.)
Ineligible Expenses
- Real estate purchases 
- Repayment of loans or mortgages 
- Rent or contract payments for time periods extending beyond the term of the grant contract 
- Equipment purchases, construction, or capital expenses (items whose cost is $5000 or more and depreciates over more than one year) 
- Administrative or overhead costs that are not direct costs of the grant project 
- Advertising expenses 
- Legal fees 
- Lobbying, fundraising, or other political activity 
- Any costs incurred by any firm for work performed in the preparation of and production of a proposal or for any work performed prior to the formal execution of a contract

Dairy

Butter

Cheese

Milk

Yogurt

Cow Milk

Goat Milk

- 2023 Request for Proposals
- Application​
- Press Release - DATCP Dairy Processor Grant Application Open through January 7
- 2021 Dairy Processor Grant Recipients ​

Recipients are chosen through a competitive process. A total grant up to $50,000 is available per dairy processor per year. The dairy processor is required to provide a match of at least 20 percent of the grant amount.

Applications are submitted in response to a Request for Proposals, with separate RFPs for dairy exports and for meat/crop exports. The most recent round closed April 9, 2025; DATCP awards these grants on an approximately two-year cycle, so no round is open as of September 2026. Projects may be funded for up to two years, with an option to request a third. Contact DATCPdadgrants@wisconsin.gov.

Wisconsin DATCP — Agricultural Development Grants

Grants from Wisconsin DATCP to help Wisconsin agricultural exporters expand into new markets.



Institutional applicant: Wisconsin-based not-for-profit organizations that currently serve, or can serve, Wisconsin agribusinesses — including agribusiness associations, technical colleges, universities, and economic development organizations. Not open to individual for-profit businesses or farmers directly.

Grants range from $25,000 to $100,000 per recipient — meat/crop export projects $25,000–$50,000; dairy export projects $25,000–$100,000. A 20% match (cash or in-kind) is required. Eligible costs include trade-promotion travel, event promotion, marketing materials, advertising, contractor fees, and translation services. Funded through the Wisconsin Initiative for Agricultural Exports (WIAE).

DATCP is currently accepting county applications on a rolling basis. To request a grant consultation or a copy of the application, contact program staff at DATCPWorkingLands@wisconsin.gov.

Wisconsin DATCP — Farmland Preservation / Working Lands

State grants from Wisconsin DATCP to counties to develop or update farmland preservation plans under the state's Farmland Preservation Program.



Institutional applicant: Wisconsin counties with agricultural lands. Not a direct-to-farmer grant — the resulting state-certified county farmland-preservation plan enables farmers in that county to claim farmland-preservation tax credits.

Business Plan

Cash Rent

Refinancing

Transition

Succession

Grants reimburse up to 50% of a county's cost to prepare or update a state-certified farmland preservation plan, capped at $30,000 per county. A certified plan is a prerequisite for landowners in the county to qualify for farmland-preservation tax credits.

There is no grant application. You claim this credit yourself on your Wisconsin income tax return — but you have to get one document from your county first, and there is no application round at all.

Step 1 — get a Certificate of Compliance from your county. "Landowners who are new to the program or need to obtain a copy of their Certificate of Compliance must contact the county land conservation department in the county their farmland is located." The certificate is issued by the county land conservation committee and shows you meet the state's soil and water conservation standards. "If you have not yet received a certificate of compliance, you must contact your county land conservation department to schedule a time to discuss your farm's compliance status." Find your county office through the County Conservation Department Directory at https://wisconsinlandwater.org/members-hub/members. While you are at it, "Contact your town or county zoning office to confirm eligible zoning."

Step 2 — file the right schedule with your income tax return. "Nearly all eligible landowners will need to submit Schedule FC-A when filing the tax credit claim. The only exception is for landowners with a farmland preservation agreement entered into prior to July 1, 2009 that has not been modified. These landowners must continue to use Schedule FC." If you hold a pre-July-2009 agreement and would rather claim the per-acre credit, you can modify the agreement instead — see https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ModifyFPAgreement.aspx.

Step 3 — attach the certificate the first time, and again if your acreage changes. "If you are claiming the credit for the first time, or the number of acres on which the claim is based has changed, you will need to submit a copy of the certificate of compliance with your income tax return."

You no longer attach a zoning certificate — but keep your zoning office's number handy, because the state may come back and ask. DATCP's guide puts it this way: "No. The law no longer requires landowners to submit a zoning certificate. In some instances, the Department of Revenue may follow up with claimants to certify that the number of acres listed on Schedule FC-A are eligible for the tax credit. In these instances, the landowner should work with the county or town zoning office to obtain documentation showing that the acres are eligible for the credit. Acceptable documentation could include a letter from the appropriate zoning administrator."

Timing: no deadline round and no application window — you claim it annually with your Wisconsin income tax return, so your deadline is your tax filing deadline. Two conditions get checked for the year you claim: "Have the previous year's property taxes been paid?" and the gross farm revenue test — "Did my land produce $6,000 in gross farm revenue during the previous year or $18,000 in gross farm revenues during the previous three years?"

Guides worth reading before you file: DATCP's "Claiming the Farmland Preservation Tax Credit with Schedule FC-A" (https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents/HowtoClaimFPFCA.pdf), which lays out the steps above, and Wisconsin Department of Revenue Publication 503, "Wisconsin Farmland Preservation Credit For Use in Preparing Claims" (https://www.revenue.wi.gov/DOR%20Publications/pb503.pdf).

Who to ask: DATCP's Working Lands staff — Wednesday Coye (608) 224-4611, Katy Smith (608) 224-4621, DATCPWorkingLands@wi.gov. For the tax mechanics, "contact DATCP at (608) 224-4611 or the Wisconsin Department of Revenue at (608) 266-2442."

A Wisconsin income-tax credit for owners of farmland located in a certified farmland-preservation zoning district and/or covered by an effective farmland-preservation agreement, who meet soil-and-water conservation standards.



Farmland owners in a certified farmland-preservation zoning district and/or effective preservation agreement who meet soil-and-water conservation standards and $6,000+ gross farm revenue per year (or $18,000 over three years). Requires a county Certificate of Compliance.

A reduction or waiving of fees for meeting a certain criteria.

Discount

Nutrition & Food Safety

$10/acre (zoning district only, or an agreement within an agricultural enterprise area) or $12.50/acre (both a zoning district and an agreement). Claimed as an income-tax credit.

There are two routes to this reimbursement and you may use only one. DATCP is explicit: "Please note that you may only apply for the Organic Certification Cost Share with FSA or DATCP."

Right now, apply through FSA. As of the update posted on DATCP's Organic Farming and Food page, "As of July 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not yet opened the Organic Certification Cost Share Program for 2025 or 2026 through the States' Departments of Agriculture," and DATCP "does not have any updates on when it will begin accepting applications." The state's last round is closed — "The last OCCSP application period closed in December 2024." In the meantime the federal route is open: "FSA offices are actively accepting applications. Those who need cost share funds promptly may apply with their local county FSA office." So the working route today is your local county USDA Farm Service Agency office.

The DATCP route, when it reopens. DATCP says it "will be running the 2025 and 2026 years concurrently" once the program opens. Applications are then submitted by one of "three application methods: mail, email or online form," all published on the program page at https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/AgDevelopment/OrganicFarmingAndFood.aspx. To hear about it: DATCP says "You can sign up to receive notifications about the program by text or email via the electronic mailing list" (https://service.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIDATCP/subscriber/new) and that it "will update this webpage and send out notifications as soon as program details are announced."

What to assemble for the DATCP route

- Proof of certification and proof of payment, both required: "Supporting documentation includes both proof of certification and proof of payment." Watch the form of the receipt — "canceled checks or invoices that do not show proof of payment are not an acceptable form of documentation."
- New applicants only: a completed W-9 (https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents2/W9.pdf) and a DATCP New Supplier form (https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents2/DOA-6460NewSupplier.pdf).
- You do not have to wait for paperwork to file: "Applicants may submit applications without including supporting documentation or new applicant forms," and those can follow later by mail, email or the online form.
- Your certifier can send the documentation for you, but only with its agreement: "Certifiers may provide DATCP with supporting documentation, but certifying agencies must agree to do this."

Deadline. None is currently published. The state application period is closed and no reopening date has been announced; FSA intake is continuous in the meantime.

Who to ask. Jarret Miles-Kroening, Organic and Specialty Crops Program Specialist — DATCPorganiccostshare@wisconsin.gov, (608) 320-6685. General program questions also go to datcporganiccostshare@wi.gov.

Wisconsin DATCP — Organic Cost Share Program

Wisconsin's administration of the USDA Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), reimbursing certified-organic farms and processors a share of their organic certification costs.



Wisconsin certified-organic (or transitioning) crop, livestock, wild crop, and handler operations.

Compliance

Legal & Finance

Reimburses 75% of certification costs, up to $750 per certification scope across as many as four scopes (crops, livestock, wild crops, handler). The last state application period closed in December 2024; applicants are directed to USDA FSA in the interim.

Counties apply through DATCP's annual SWRM joint grant allocation process (see the SWRM Joint Grant Application Instructions). Grant funds must be spent in the year awarded. Submit applications and materials to DATCPswrm@wisconsin.gov.

Wisconsin DATCP — Soil and Water Resource Management (SWRM) Grants

State grants from Wisconsin DATCP to county land conservation departments/committees to support soil-and-water resource management, including staffing and landowner cost-sharing.



Institutional applicant: Wisconsin counties (through their land conservation departments/committees) that hold a DATCP-approved Land and Water Resource Management Plan. Not a direct-to-farmer grant — farmers participate via county cost-share contracts for eligible conservation practices.

Irrigation

Water Quality

Waterway Protection

Wetland Conservation

State-funded grants (under ATCP 50) allocated annually to all 72 Wisconsin counties for county conservation staff and support, structural cost-share to landowners, nutrient-management cost-share, and engineering reserve awards. Landowner cost-share is typically 70% of practice cost, up to 90% in some cases. Funds must be spent in the year awarded.

Applications are submitted online via AccessGov using a MyWisconsin ID; first-time applicants may submit paper applications by email or mail to the Clean Sweep office. Applications for 2027 grants were due 11:59 p.m. Friday, May 22, 2026; the program runs annually with the next round expected in spring 2027.

Wisconsin DATCP — Clean Sweep Program

State grants from Wisconsin DATCP to counties and municipalities to collect and safely dispose of agricultural and household pesticides and unwanted prescription/pharmaceutical drugs.



Institutional applicant: Wisconsin governmental entities (counties and municipalities) and Tribes. Very-small-quantity hazardous-waste businesses may also participate in collections. Not a direct-to-farmer grant — farmers use the collection events these grantees run to dispose of unwanted agricultural pesticides and chemicals.

Reimbursement grants funding the collection and safe disposal of agricultural pesticides and farm chemicals, household hazardous waste, and unwanted prescription drugs. Total annual allocation is $1 million — $775,000 for household hazardous waste, $175,000 for agricultural collections, and $50,000 for unwanted prescription-drug collection.

The 2027 round is open. DATCP opened applications on September 16, 2026, and they must be received by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on October 15, 2026. DATCP will not consider late applications.

How to apply: complete the online application at https://wi.accessgov.com/datcp/Forms/Page/dad/mpigapplication/1. Read the 2027 Request for Proposals first (https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents2/2027MPIGRFP.docx). Both are linked from the program page, https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/AgDevelopment/MeatProcessorInfrastructureGrants.aspx. Paper applications are available on request.

Every applicant must name one authorized contract signer, who can sign contracts for the business, and one project coordinator, who handles all grant communication. Incomplete applications may not be considered.

How it is scored: a review committee rates each complete application out of 100 points: grant application 10, statement of need 35, activities and outcomes 25, budget 20, and up to 10 extra points. Preference may go to projects with an industry-wide benefit or that increase harvest for multiple Wisconsin producers, and to applicants without a prior MPIG award or an open DATCP Division of Agricultural Development grant.

What happens next: the committee selects projects by November 9, 2026, DATCP notifies selected applicants in late November, projects are expected to start January 1, 2027, and all projects must end by December 31, 2029. Payment is by reimbursement under a signed contract, which must be returned within 30 days. Costs incurred before the contract is signed are reimbursed only case by case.

Questions: DATCPdadgrants@wisconsin.gov, or Jeff Swenson, Livestock and Meat Specialist, (608) 333-7016.

Infrastructure grants from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to meat-processing establishments to grow the state's meat industry and support livestock-sector viability.



- Operators of a DATCP- or USDA-licensed meat-processing establishment located in Wisconsin.
- Applicants must be engaged in livestock harvesting or further meat processing.
- Rendering plants are not eligible.
- The proposed project must increase harvest capacity or the amount of meat product production.
- Applicants must have no outstanding state or federal penalties or violations.
- Applicants must be in good standing with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, DATCP, and USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
- Matching funds equal to 100 percent of the grant award are required.
- DATCP employees and their immediate family members cannot financially benefit from grant-funded projects.

Buildings

Construction

Fencing

Greenhouse

HVAC

Lighting

Repairs

Storage

Grants of up to $50,000, for projects lasting up to two years. Matching funds of 100 percent of the grant award are required, and the match must be an eligible project expense documented the same way as reimbursable costs. This is a reimbursement grant: DATCP advances nothing, and you claim costs with invoices and proof of payment. DATCP may partially fund a project or give all available funds to a single project.

The 2027 Request for Proposals does not state the total available. The 2026 round made $700,000 available.

Rounds recur but not in a fixed month. Recent windows opened October 28, 2021, February 5, 2024, January 12, 2026, and September 16, 2026.

DATCP administers RFSI under a cooperative agreement with USDA-AMS. Wisconsin has awarded $27.2 million across 81 grants (51 Equipment, 30 Infrastructure). The most recent equipment-only round opened June 19, 2025 with recipients announced October 24, 2025; no application round is open as of September 2026 and the program is in the grant-management/reimbursement phase. Contact DATCPRFSI@wisconsin.gov or sign up for program updates.

Wisconsin DATCP - RFSI Program

Grace Puc

Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Program Contact

Wisconsin's administration of USDA's Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Program, supporting middle-of-the-supply-chain infrastructure for local and regional food. Open to producers, processors, and nonprofits.



Producers, processors, aggregators, distributors, food hubs, and nonprofit organizations operating in the middle of the food supply chain (aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transport, wholesaling, distribution) for locally and regionally produced foods. Awarded under two tracks: Infrastructure Grants and Equipment-Only Grants.

Federally funded through USDA-AMS (Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program) and administered by Wisconsin DATCP. To date $27.2 million has been awarded across 81 grants (51 Equipment, 30 Infrastructure). Match requirements vary by grant track under the USDA-AMS RFSI framework.

Applications are submitted online at wi.accessgov.com in response to the annual RFP. 2026 applications were due March 3, 2026; the program runs annually, with the next round expected in early 2027. Contact DATCPdadgrants@wisconsin.gov.

Wisconsin's administration of the USDA AMS Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, funding projects that enhance the competitiveness of Wisconsin specialty crops.



Wisconsin farmers, non-profit organizations, producer organizations, government agencies, universities, and other agricultural groups. Projects must benefit the specialty-crop industry broadly rather than yield direct profit to a single organization or individual. Specialty crops include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops (including floriculture).

Project awards range from $10,000 to $100,000. Federal pass-through funding from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, administered by Wisconsin DATCP.

List of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) Funding Opportunities