Two grants to promote the dairy industry in Alaska have been announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Chad Padgett, acting director of the USDA Rural Development office, announced the award of two grants in support the dairy industry in Alaska.
A grant of $175,000 was approved for Kyle Beus to establish an ice cream production facility in Wasilla. The other grant, for $475,000, will be used to develop an organic milk plant in Palmer.
The milk production facility is proposed by Robert Gottstein and Rob Wells, the former director of Agriculture for the state and currently the Matanuska-Susitna Borough's development director, according to Padgett.
“The grant will provide capital to purchase equipment for, and set up, a milk processing facility adjacent to an existing bottling operation,” Padgett said. “The $475,000 will be combined with the existing bottling facility. The existing infrastructure is projected to substantially reduce capital needs.”
The $650,000 in funds originated from a $24 million appropriation that U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens won in 2002 to promote and further the dairy industry in Alaska.
Matanuska Maid chief executive officer Joe Van Treeck and Wells started stumping for the aid in 2000.
Most of the funds were never used due to a squabble between the milk producers and their chief customer, Matanuska Maid.
The $650,000 was requested by a co-op formed by three Point MacKenzie dairy farms that had proposed a whole milk production facility there. The co-op disbanded when two of the three dairy farms announced that they were going to quit production.
USDA had promised to disburse the money in the fall of 2006, but did not issue a request for proposals until Jan. 29, 2007.
According to a USDA press release, nine applications were submitted from seven entities. Four applications failed to meet the basic grant eligibility requirements.
The five remaining applications were evaluated by a review panel comprised of the director of the state Division of Agriculture, the director of the University of Alaska Anchorage's Center for Economic Development, the director of the Global Food Collaborative; and USDA-Alaska Rural Development staff.
“Each of the panelists has extensive knowledge and expertise that proved most helpful in the evaluation process,” Padgett said.
After careful deliberation, the review panel also concluded that the two successful project proposals offered the best opportunities for success and recommended approval of the two awards.
The grants will be administered on a reimbursement basis, with the federal government retaining an ownership interest in the facilities and equipment purchased with grant funds until conditions of the grant agreement have been satisfied.
Beus, a former Point MacKenzie dairy farmer, closed what was the largest Point MacKenzie dairy in 2005. According to a loan officer with the state of Alaska Agriculture Revolving Loan Fund, in January 2005, Kyle and Sandy Beus agreed to a settlement with the state of Alaska to release their dairy farm's property at Point MacKenzie back to the state to avoid foreclosure.
Rob Stapleton can be reached at
rob.stapleton@alaskajournal.com.
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