The Dairy Business Innovation Alliance, a partnership between the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association and the Center for Dairy Research, is giving 41 grants totaling nearly $4 million.
These dollars are going to farmstead operations and dairy processing businesses across the Midwest. A dozen of them are based in Wisconsin.
“These grant programs remain very popular; we are delighted to be able to help these small dairy businesses grow and diversify their product offerings,” says CDR Director John Lucey. “Our goal is to increase the number of thriving farmsteads and innovative dairy manufacturers in our region.”
Dairy Business Builder Grant
Thirty-seven of the 41 grants are Dairy Business Builder grants targeting small-to-medium size farmers or processors. Supported projects are aimed at diversifying on-farm activity, creating value-added products, enhancing dairy by-products or export programs. In the latest round, DBIA will be distributing 37 Dairy Business Builder grants totaling $3.3 million in nine of the 11 states covered by the DBIA. In addition, nearly 70 percent of awardees are first time winners.
Wisconsin businesses getting a grant:
- Alpinage Cheese LLC, Oak Creek, WI
- Burnett Dairy Cooperative, Grantsburg, WI
- Ducks in a Row Family Farm, Arena, WI
- Hidden Springs Creamery LLC, Westby, WI
- Holland’s Family Cheese, LLC, Thorp, WI
- Sassy Cow Creamery, Columbus, WI
- Specialty Cheese Company, Inc., Reeseville, WI
- Strack-View Farms LLC / Jersey Valley Cheese, Adell, WI
- Westby Coop Creamery, Westby, WI
Dairy Industry Impact Grant
DBIA will also be awarding four Dairy Industry Impact grants totaling $400,000 to small dairy processing businesses in Wisconsin and Minnesota. This grant program supports projects in targeted topic areas that have the potential to positively impact the dairy industry as a whole. In the latest grant cycle, applications were accepted for projects related to exporting dairy products.
Wisconsin businesses getting a grant:
- Rosewood Dairy, Inc. DBA Renard’s Cheese, Algoma, WI
- Sartori Cheese, Plymouth, WI
- Specialty Cheese Company, Inc., Reeseville WI
In total, including these grants, DBIA has awarded more than $13 million in grants to 129 dairy processing businesses in the Midwest. The program passed through Congress as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. DBIA is funded by a USDA award intended to drive dairy business innovation and make the industry more robust and resilient. The DBIA region includes Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.