Microloans Awarded to Danu Hof and Saltless Sea

The Crosshatch Microloan program, offered in collaboration with Oryana Community Co-op, provides meaningful access to zero-interest funding for farms and food businesses looking to grow their operations. We're happy to share that the 2026 Microloan awardees are Danu Hof Farm & Market and Saltless Sea Creamery.

Danu Hof Farm & Market Builds Chicken Processing Facility

Danu Hof Farm & Market was awarded $6,726.02 to purchase poultry processing equipment for their new on-farm facility. In recent years, regional poultry processing closures have limited production for dozens of Northern Michigan farms. DanuHof was forced to scale back production from 650 birds to 250 despite growing demand for their pastured chicken. 

This award will help Danu Hof increase their production of chicken. The infrastructure will also offer access to poultry processing for other small-scale livestock producers in the region, improving access to quality meat in Northern Michigan. 

Saltless Sea Creamery Expands Production with Trailer to Haul Milk

Saltless Sea Creamery was awarded $5,000 to purchase an enclosed trailer capable of hauling 150 gallons of milk from their local dairy partner, DeVor Farm & Creamery. Access to this vital equipment will allow Saltless Sea to continue sourcing quality milk for their beloved Mediterranean-style cheeses at their new creamery in Traverse City. 

Until now, Saltless Sea has rented production space from other cheesemakers. Soon, they'll be moving into a dedicated space of their own. Having the equipment needed to bring in sufficient milk, in addition to having their own facility, will allow Saltless Sea to grow production to 6-12 times their previous scale, meeting the demand for their artisan cheeses.