Jun. 10—Greg Clabaugh, who operates a number of farms in Keymar, distributes malt — a fundamental ingredient in beer — from his household’s Amber Fields Malting and Brewing enterprise to a handful of native breweries.
But he is been trying to develop.
To provide to extra breweries in Frederick County and all through the state, he would want a business facility for processing malt and brewing grain.
Clabaugh stated he had deliberate to assemble such a facility inside about 5 years, however a $125,000 grant the county awarded him will enable the ability to be constructed inside a yr or two.
“It’s going to be a life changer so far as our enterprise goes,” Clabaugh stated.
Amber Fields Malting and Brewing is one in every of 9 Frederick County farming companies that acquired a complete of $500,000 from the most recent spherical of the county’s Agriculture Innovation Grants, County Executive Jan Gardner introduced Thursday.
Over the final 15 years, Amber Fields Malting and Brewing has grown from producing roughly 10 kilos of malt per week to round 2,000 kilos.
“It took some time to discover ways to do it proper,” Clabaugh stated.
The processing facility will enable output to proceed to extend and can assist Clabaugh add two full-time and one part-time place to his enterprise.
The county launched the Agriculture Innovation Grants program in 2020 to assist native farming companies like Clabaugh’s, serving to them diversify their merchandise to stay worthwhile. The county awards grants twice per yr utilizing funds from recordation charges.
Gardner, D, introduced in February that $500,000 of the county’s $50 million allotment from the federal American Rescue Plan Act can be used for this system, greater than doubling the one-time funding accessible to supply farmers.
Congress handed the $350 billion plan to help state and native governments of their long-term pandemic restoration efforts.
The county has awarded native farm companies greater than $1 million and helped them add 61 full-time jobs and 68 part-time jobs by the Agriculture Innovation Grant program, Gardner stated throughout a press briefing Thursday.
“Adding to our economic system is strictly what we got down to do with this program,” Gardner stated. County Council Vice President Michael Blue, R, joined Gardner to announce the recipients.
Applications for the most recent cycle opened in March. The county acquired 65 functions and awarded grants to 9 companies in quantities of $5,000 or extra.
Spencer Cox, who operates Pasture Living rooster farm in Myersville, was awarded $29,000 to put in a walk-in freezer house for storing unsold rooster, which might be marketed throughout the offseason or offered to companies trying to buy frozen rooster.
The funding may also pay for a truck mattress cooler for deliveries and can enable Cox so as to add three full-time and three-part time positions to his enterprise.
“It will probably be extraordinarily useful,” Cox stated of the grant.
This spherical of Agriculture Innovation Grants will assist receiving companies add a complete of 24 full-time and 26 part-time jobs.
The remaining six grant recipients embody:
— Chestnut Hill Farm and Market in Smithsburg
— Glamourview Creamery in Walkersville
— Moon Valley Farm in Woodsboro
— Chocolates and Tomatoes Farm in Middletown
— Distillery Lane Ciderworks in Jefferson
— Good Faith Farm in Middletown Valley
— Stone Pillar Farm in Frederick
Follow Jack Hogan on Twitter: @jckhogan
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