Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

​​The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program is a federal cooperative agreement awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) to state departments of a​​griculture to build resilience across the middle-of-the supply-chain and strengthen local and regional food systems. 

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has partnered with the USDA-AMS to award $26.2 million for 41 Equipment Grants and 30 Infrastructure Grants. Access the Equipment-Only grant recipient list. Access the Infrastructure grant recipient list. 

​Awarded projects are expanding capacity and infrastructure across the state for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, including specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture, and other value-added food products. Goals of this investment include providing more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, and supporting the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, fair wages, and new and safe job opportunities.​

Current Grants

DATCP is opening a limited 2025 Equipment-Only Grant Request for Proposals (RFP) to distribute funds remaining from the 2024 RFSI solicitation. The second round of Simplified Equipment-Only Grants will range in value from $10,000 to $99,999 and do not require cost sharing or matching.

The Simplified Equipment-Only Grant will operate on an accelerated timeline:

• Informational Webinar Q&A will be held at 11 a.m. on June 25, 2025. Register HERE.​ 
  
• Proposals must be received by no later than 5 p.m. on July 21, 2025.
  
• Applicants will be selected to move on to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) review mid-August 2025.
• Subrecipients receive contracts following USDA AMS approval, anticipated October 2025.
• All equipment purchases must be made by December 31, 2025.

Applicant Materials

​2025 Simplified Equipment-Only Grant Request for Proposals​

Quick Start Guide to Getting a Unique Entity ID

Full proposals consist of all the following documents:

• 2025 RFSI Equipment-Only Grant Proposal​ (NOTE: You will need to download the linked USDA-AMS form to your computer to open using Adobe Reader. If your computer does not have Adobe Reader, it can be downloaded for free at this webpage: http://www.adobe.com/go/reader_download​)
• Quote or estimate to substantiate the cost of each piece of requested equipment
• Risk Assessment Survey
• Applicant Environmental Questionnaire
• Evidence of Critical Resources and Infrastructure Letter
• Letters of support (optional; maximum of three)​

​​RFSI Grantee Resources​​​​