A local Manitowoc corporation has received a federal grant for their innovation in domestic fertilizer.
US Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small held a meeting and took a tour of the Dramm Corporation before announcing the new grant funding.
The Fertilizer Production Expansion Program or F-PEP was funded by Commodity Credit Corporation and provides funding for independent business owners to help them modernize equipment and adopt new technology.
Dramm is using a $776,000 grant to increase production for farmers.
They make fish fertilizer suitable for organic and traditional farming.
CEO Hans Dramm says the company is grateful for the grant and is already putting it to use.
“We’ve already started our first wave of new equipment replacement,” Hans said. “We’re also going to increase our energy efficiency. And we’re very excited about increase our overall production for the nation.”
Torres Small explained that the USDA was looking for projects that locally sourced fertilizer and had Dramm take a feasibility study to show that they were financially ready.
The USDA also looked at what the company can do.
USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small speaks with Fritz Dramm (middle) and Hans Dramm (Right) about their fish fertilizer.
“Dramm really identified their high capability to implement quickly and had a strong plan for expansions.” She explained.
Over $120 million from the USDA was given to six other fertilizer production projects with another in Wisconsin along with Illinois, South Dakota, and three other states.
Betley Farms LLC in Pulaski is getting $3.5 million to implement a new concentration system.
The money comes from the Biden-Harris Administration.
