LANSING – Mary Safie smells like Michigan-grown organic vinegar and she’s more than happy about it.

With a passion for gourmet vegetable packing, Safie owns and operates Safie Specialty Foods, a hand-packing pickling company in Chesterfield Township.

Safie buys produce from farmers across the state and wants to expand her business and buy even more state produce.  She’s currently in the running for $153,000 in grants from the state Department of Agriculture, and she anticipates expanding nationally and internationally.

“I want to be able to readily compete in the global marketplace,” Safie said.  “The grant would just make it work.”

The state is evaluating proposals from Safie’s and 39 other agribusinesses that are finalists for the grants.  The 40 candidates combined are requesting a total of $4.7 million.

The grants, known as the Agricultural Innovation Grants, came as a direct result of the 21st Century Jobs Fund initiated by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, which will distribute $2 billion to businesses over the next 10 years.

Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Mitch Irwin says the grants will help increase export opportunities for growers and packers statewide.

“We lead the country in exporting a number of crops,” Irwin said.  “Our exports have grown from $700 million to $900 million.  In 2007, we’ll be approaching the $1 billion mark of globally exported products.”

Other finalists for the grant made unusual requests for funding.  For example, Mite Zapper in Detroit requested $90,000 to start development methods to control varroa mite, a parasite that attacks honeybees.

MC Dairy in Fremont requested $50,000 for water buffalo dairy product research, and an Okemos seafood company, Seafood Systems Inc., wants $200,000 to research the production of shrimp from larval shrimp.

Safie expanded her business in 2004 from one operating out of her house into a 14,000-square-foot processing plant in Chesterfield Township.  

She’s continuing and slightly modifying the canning traditions of her father and grandfather, who owned Safie Bros. Farm Pickle Co. in Mount Clemens before the company was sold.  Their company was known for curing cauliflower, cucumbers, onions and peppers so they could be canned.

The pickling market is strong across the country.  Pickle Packers International, a trade association based in St. Charles, Ill, said nearly 5.2 million pounds of cucumber pickles are sold across the country every year.

The association also said 100,000 to 125,000 acres are devoted to growing pickling cucumbers nationwide.  Another 15,000 acres are used to grow picking peppers.

Safie has already started to expand into the Midwest, where Costco sells a selection of her gourmet pickled sugar beets.  Her products also include pickled peppers and cucumbers.

Vendors in Japan and Korea have shown interest in her beet and okra products, but she said she doesn’t have the proper equipment to ship overseas.

“I would like to purchase equipment to make labeling look uniform so that I can begin to mass produce,” Safie said.  “Once this grant comes in, I can hire 15 to 20 more people and get some new machinery.”

Safie, who lives in St. Clair Shores, wants to keep Michigan as her main source of produce.  She currently buys vegetables from several area growers, including Tim Campbell Farm in Flint, Gier Farm in Armada, Odrobina Farm in New Haven and Rosco Horkey Farm in Monroe.

Final decisions on the grant distribution will be made on Oct. 3.