USDA awards grant funding to Empire Brewing Company, three CNY farms

The federal government is providing Empire Brewing Company of Syracuse a financial boost for its Farmstead Brewery project in Cazenovia.

At the same time, grant funding from the same program will also benefit three Central New York farms.

U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) and U.S. Representative Dan Maffei (D–DeWitt) on Wednesday announced the nearly $500,000 in federal funding in a news release Schumer’s office distributed.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) allocated the funding through its value-added producer grant (VAPG) program. 

The USDA has awarded the Empire Farmstead Brewery of Cazenovia, which is scheduled to open in the spring, a grant of $200,000.

Empire Brewing will use the funding to help it expand the company’s operation with the Cazenovia brewery, grow its own hops, and bottle its own beer.

The Empire Brewing Company is “delighted” to hear the news, David Katleski, owner of Empire Brewing and the current president of the New York State Brewers Association, said in the Schumer news release.

“Becoming a first-time farmer has its challenges, and to tie farming and agritourism to the craft-brewing industry is a business model that we are confident the USDA will hold up as an example for others. This grant allows us to grow both figuratively and literally,” said Katleski.

Schumer on July 14 had visited the Empire Brewing Company at 120 Walton St. in Syracuse’s Armory Square to announce his support for the company’s pursuit of federal funding for the brewery project.

Besides the Empire Brewing grant, the USDA also awarded Side Hill Farmer’s Cooperative of Manlius a grant of nearly $200,000.

In addition, Kriemhild Dairy Farms of Hamilton and Good Life Farm of Interlaken in Seneca County will each use a nearly $50,000 award, the lawmakers said.

The funding will help the farms generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities, and increase producer income, the lawmakers said.

The VAPG program is designed to help boost farms’ income and productivity by increasing access to capital, providing technical assistance, and developing new marketing strategies for independent producers to increase exposure and broaden their customer base, according to the news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com