Michigan is proud to celebrate its growing craft spirits industry. Ranked 8th in the nation for craft distillers, our state is home to 109 distilleries-and counting. Over 40 of these are certified distillers, meaning they use more the 40% Michigan-grown grain.

From the Upper Peninsula to Southeast and West Michigan, distilleries are transforming over 3 million pounds of locally grown grain and fruit each year into award-winning spirits. These efforts support Michigan agriculture and help drive craft beverage tourism and economic growth, where spirits join cider, wine, and beer to contribute more than $7.3 billion to the state economy and $892.6 million in tourism expenditures. 

View the Michigan Craft Spirits Month 2025 Proclamation.

Want to explore local producers? Check out Grower Directory Map | Michigan Craft Beverage Council and follow our Instagram https://www.instagram.com/michigancrafted/ from the Michigan Craft Beverage Council to discover who’s making what across the state.

Sklarczyk Seed Farm (SSF) is a generational farm in Johannesburg. Michael and Theresa Sklarczyk purchased the farm in 1942, growing potatoes and grain crops to feed their livestock. Mike began trucking the potatoes to the Eastern Market in Detroit, where a competitor realized the great quality of SSF potatoes and asked Mike to grow seed for his potato crop. Since then, Mike and Theresa have since handed the farm down through multiple generations of the Sklarczyk family. The current owners, Ben and Alison Sklarczyk, are the third-generation owners of the farm.  

Over the past 15 years, the farm has seen significant growth in their operations. In 2009, SSF had only 30,000 square feet of greenhouse space and 2,000 acres of row crop farming space to produce roughly 3.5 million minitubers. To grow their operation, the farm constructed an additional five bay gutter connect glasshouse in 2013 and in 2020, with the help of an MDARD Rural Development Fund Grant), they constructed another greenhouse. The overall expansion enabled SSF to grow additional varieties and helped them to meet the specific needs of international customers within the extra 20,000 square feet of greenhouse space. With the expansion, SSF now produces just over 10 million minitubers. 

In 2019, SSF won MDARD’s Agriculture Exporter of the Year Award, an honor given each year to one export company in Michigan that achieves great exporting success. SSF has continued to grow in international export markets, expanding their share of exports as a percentage of their total revenue from 24.6 percent in 2016 to 60 percent in 2024. SSF now exports to Brazil, Canada, Chile, Egypt, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Thailand. 

Visit Sklarczyk Seed Farm’s website for more information on their company.   

Visit MDARD’s website for more information on how we can help your business. 

Is your company planning an international activity in 2026? Shipping samples internationally? Attending an international trade show or certain domestic trade shows? 

Apply for Food Export’s Branded Program for 2026! The Branded Program is a cost-reimbursement program for international marketing activities. Food Export is offering a $50 discount on applications now through December 31, 2025. Before you can apply, a you must complete a free pre-qualification on Food Export’s website that outlines timelines and qualifying activities. All trade shows that have a Michigan Pavilion qualify for the Branded Program! 

Eligibility requirements for the Branded Program are that a company must be headquartered in the U.S., meet Small Business Association guidelines and products must be 50 percent U.S. agricultural content by weight. 

The program year runs from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026. More information about the Branded Program and the pre-qualification is located on the Branded Program’s webpage. Questions about the Branded Program can be sent to the International Marketing Program at MDARD-AgD@michigan.gov.