By Jon Styf | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Thirteen Wisconsin farms and businesses were awarded federal grants and loans worth a combined $24 million to spend on energy efficient equipment and improvements.

The projects were part of $195 million in grants and $61.5 million in loans sent to 1,147 projects nationally by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The largest was a $22.6 million loan to develop and operate a dairy manure anaerobic digester in Brown County for the Tinedale Project LLC. The digester collects bio-methane and converts it into renewable natural gas, which can be transported to a local natural gas pipeline.

The Macdonald and Owen Veneer and Lumber Company in Polk County will receive a $747,432 grant to install a solar electric array in Luck that is projected to save $113,355 per year in energy costs as it powers the equivalent of 124 homes.

Knutson Family Farms in Pierce County received a $203,096 grant to install a more energy efficient grain dryer at its Beldenville farm.

Fairway to Heaven in Sherwood received a $91,553 grant to install a small solar array while Spring Lake Farms in Neshkoro will receive an $84,002 grant to install a more energy-efficient grain dryer.

The grants are funded by the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program, which received $2 billion in funding through the federal Inflation Reduction Act.

“I know our farms and small businesses – particularly in rural areas – drive our economy, and I am working hard to help them cut their energy costs, increase their efficiency, and continue to support the livelihoods of so many hard-working Wisconsinites,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin said in a statement