Cook, Sangamon, Stephenson, Warren Counties Receive Over $20 Million in Grant Funds for Domestic Fertilizer Projects
CHAMPAIGN, IL, May 24, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Acting State Director Molly Hammond today announced that four businesses in Illinois are receiving a combined $20+ million in grant funds for projects through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP). This program provides grants to independent business owners to help them modernize equipment, adopt new technologies, build production plants and more. These investments are designed to help boost domestic fertilizer production, strengthen competition, and lower costs for farmers.
“This is an exciting investment for our local ag producers”, says Hammond. “Increasing local fertilizer production helps ensure a strong supply chain and keeps costs lower for rural Illinois farms.”
Illinois Projects:
- Cook County – Patriot Acres LLC received a $1.5 million grant to assist with the construction and equipping of a 45,720 square foot, organic recycling and processing facility located in Des Plaines, Illinois. Patriot Acres LLC utilizes landscape waste, food waste, and organic discard into high quality compost and liquid soil additive called Terreplenish. The facility is expected to generate enough fertilizer to replace roughly 253,000 acres per year and provide domestic fertilizer to 1,800 plus producers in the region.
- Sangamon County – Sul4r Plus LLC received a $14.8 million grant that will be used to provide financing for construction and equipping of a new fertilizer facility in Springfield, Illinois. The facility operated by Sul4r-Plus, will upcycle synthetic gypsum which is a waste from coal fired plants into organic binder nutrient. The project is expected to create 50 new positions and anticipates yielding 100,000 tons per year which will be made available to more than 80 local producers annually.
- Stephenson County – Aquatic Agriculture LLC received a $2 million grant to provide financing for equipment and working capital for a mobile fertilizer processing and bailing operation. The project, which is unique to the industry, bales and packages chicken litter into a producer-ready product with extended shelf life. Operated by Green Harvest Solutions, the new equipment and working capital will help deliver a high content, low impact fertilizer amendment to producers throughout the Mid-West. The project anticipates yielding 173,250 tons per year of fertilizer nutrient which will be enough to cover roughly 200,000 acres in replacement to the syntactic equivalent.
- Warren County - Interpose Ag, LLC received a $2.4 million grant to help produce a low salt, potassium phosphate liquid fertilizer for in-season application uses. The project is expected to create 10 new jobs and anticipates yielding 6 million gallons per year of liquid fertilizer which will be made available to more than 100 local producers annually.
The FPEP was created to combat issues facing American farmers due to rising fertilizer prices, which more than doubled between 2021 and 2022 due to a variety of factors such as the war in Ukraine and a lack of competition in the fertilizer industry.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov. To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit the GovDelivery Subscriber Page.
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