After looking green all summer because of their crops, three local farms will get even greener thanks to some federal grants announced this month. Kinnard Farms in Casco, S&B Dairy Farm in Sturgeon Bay, and S&S Jerseyland Dairy in Sturgeon Bay received over $650,000 in funding from the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The program assists agricultural producers and rural small business owners in making energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy investments to lower energy costs, generate new income, and strengthen the resiliency of their operations. All three projects are related to the feed and grains they give to their animals. As a result of the improvements they can make to their farms because of the grants, the three farms will combine to save more than $252,000 per year and replace over three million kilowatt hours of electricity. You can read more about each individual project below.

KINNARD FARMS INC – $403,507 to help Kinnard Farms Inc., a dairy farming operation in Casco, Wisconsin, install a new feed handling system. This project is expected to save $163,059 per year. It will replace 1,186,313 kilowatt hours (kWh) (45 percent of the company's energy use) per year, which is enough energy to power 109 homes.

ROBERT SCHOPF DBA S&B FARM – $124,203 to help S&B Farm install a more energy efficient grain dryer. The farming operation is based in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and this project is expected to save $55,797 per year. It will save 746,873 kilowatt hours (kWh) (51 percent of the farm's energy use) per year, which is enough energy to power 68 homes.

S&S JERSEYLAND DAIRY – $125,000 to install an energy efficient grain dryer. S&S Jerseyland Dairy is a dairy farming operation in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. This project is expected to save $33,789 year. It will replace 1,084,186 kilowatt hours (kWh) (45 percent of the energy used by the grain drying equipment) per year, which is enough energy to power 100 homes