Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) grant helping rural Wisconsin growers 

Farmers, home gardeners, and greenhouses across rural Wisconsin are preparing for the growing season, and many are counting on fish-based fertilizers to achieve the flowers and vegetables of their dreams. 

Dramm Corporation, a Manitowoc-based family business that started in 1941, recently completed an expansion project that allows them to turn more fish scraps into liquid fertilizer for flower scapes and more. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development provided a $776,000 Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) grant to help fund the project. 

“The grant allowed us to expand and improve our fish processing plant so we can provide more quality fertilizer that enhances soil health,” said Dramm Executive Vice President and Corporate Relations Officer Heidi Dramm Becker. 

The Rural Development funding supports Dramm’s production of liquid fish fertilizers which are derived from fish scraps collected from fishermen.

“We’re catching it before it ends up going into the landfill,” said Dramm Fertilizer Production and Compliance Manager Fritz Dramm. “We would never harvest fish just to make fertilizer.”

While the expansion includes state-of-the-art technology and equipment, the simple science behind fish fertilizer is nothing new. It all starts with a fish. 

“We’re just carrying on a tradition that goes back to the Native Americans putting a fish carcass in the soil when they planted crops. We’re just making the fish carcass easier to use by liquifying it and stabilizing it to keep it from rotting,” Fritz said.

Nothing is wasted. Dramm works with fish processors that separate out the filet from the   fish. Dramm uses these scraps to create fertilizer. 

Taking scraps off the hands of partnering fish processing plants also reduces what gets sent to the local wastewater treatment plant or solid waste facility. The enzymes in the fish scraps help digest the fish solids in the production tanks further reducing waste. 

“When we give factory tours, people are shocked to see how little waste comes out the back end of our process,” Fritz said. “The bones and other solids are almost completely dissolved by a combination of the enzymes and the phosphoric acid we use as a stabilizer.”

At the Dramm Fish Fertilizer Facility in Algoma, Wisconsin, millions of pounds of walleye and other fish from the Great Lakes pass through a metal detector that helps identify bottle caps and other debris that is collected. 

The fish waste gets processed into a fine paste. A stabilizing acid is added to get rid of pathogens such as listeria and salmonella. Ultimately, 40,000 pounds of fish waste becomes 4,000 gallons of liquid fish fertilizer which is then delivered to greenhouses. 

Through the expansion project, grinder parts were updated to optimize output, new automated dumping provides uninterrupted flow of fish waste to the grinder which allows each load to be processed in an optimum time.

New LP forklifts with tote grabbers has increased employee safety and a new box truck with a lift gate ensures reliable and increased collection of waste supply for production. 

“There are many positive effects of the improvements to the fish plant resulting in greater production and more efficiency,” Heidi said. “These government programs are very beneficial in so many ways. This project helps provide natural, effective, wholesome fertilizer for the end-result of healthy crops and in the end, a supply of healthy food to the American public.”

“Sustainability is part of our business model, and all along we have wanted this project to be consistent with that value as much as possible,” said Dramm President Hans Dramm.

Dramm Corp learned about Rural Development’s FPEP grant through industry newsletters and USDA Rural Development information sessions. 

Hans said future applicants should consider the services of a grant writer and take the time to fully understand the application requirements and submission process. 

“Completeness and accuracy are very important,” he said. “Read instructions thoroughly. Understand what grant-specific terms mean so that your application is complete and accurate.”

To learn more about FPEP and more USDA RD grants and loans, visit: www.rd.usda.gov/wi.