The Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA), a partnership between the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA), has announced a new infusion of $2.9 million in Dairy Business Builder grants to 28 Midwestern dairy businesses. More than half of the recipients are farmstead businesses. Sixty-four percent are receiving grant funds for the first time, highlighting DBIA’s focus on nurturing a diverse array of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Dairy Business Builder grant program supports projects designed to diversify on-farm activity, create value-added products, enhance dairy by-products, or create or expand export programs.
Grant Recipients
- Calanna Specialty Foods of Chilton: Larry and Clara Hedrich are co-founders of Calanna Specialty Foods focusing on goat products and are seeking new opportunities for goat milk. This award will help conduct a feasibility study into the efficacy of bottling goat milk and potentially provide a future market for Grade A goat milk.
- Decatur Dairy of Broadhead: Decatur Dairy is a 3rd generation family-owned Cheese manufacturer. They specialize in Muenster, Havarti, cheese curds, and string cheese. This award will allow Decatur Dairy to increase production and streamline their string cheese manufacturing line. It will also connect with new markets.
- De Dames Ice Cream of Thorp: De Dames Ice Cream is a sister-owned, Dutch-inspired farmstead ice cream business. This award will help De Dames Ice Cream purchase production equipment. They need the equipment need to launch ice cream manufacturing, allowing the business to bring authentic Dutch-inspired flavors to customers throughout Wisconsin.
- Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery of Ellsworth: Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery is a 116-year-old dairy cooperative that produces cheese curds, specialty cheeses, and pasteurized processed cheese. This award will enable the cooperative to achieve higher standards in cheesemaking and produce a wider variety of dairy products through milk standardization.
- Hidden Springs Creamery of Westby: Hidden Springs Creamery is a farmstead sheep farm and creamery that produces award winning sheep milk cheeses. This award will help Hidden Springs purchase equipment necessary to make sheep milk yogurt, allowing them to bring a new product to the market that has growing demand.
- Lamers Dairy of Appleton: Lamers Dairy, founded in 1913, is a fifth=-generation dairy processor and the only remaining family owned and operated fluid dairy processor regulated under Federal Order 30. This award will help purchase a new separator with nearly double the processing capacity of their current separator, which will significantly improve operational efficiency, reduce processing bottlenecks, and position Lamers Dairy to pursue growth opportunities.
- Milkhaus Dairy of Fennimore: Milkhaus Dairy is a first-generation farmstead dairy that is slowly switching their herd to produce A2 milk. They are currently producing five award-winning A2 protein cheeses. This award will support a feasibility study on product and market opportunities.
- Roelli Cheese Company of Shullsburg: Roelli Cheese Company produces multiple varieties of specialty and artisan cheese. This award will help them expand their production capabilities to meet increasing demand.
- Ron’s Wisconsin Cheese of Kewaunee: Ron’s Wisconsin Cheese is a farmstead cheese company specializing in cheese curds, mozzarella cheese whips, and string cheese. Their products are made from milk sourced directly from their family dairy farm. This award will help implement an automated packaging system to increase efficiency and expand production capacity. and support continued growth in wholesale and private label partnerships.
- Wiskerchen Cheese of Auburndale: Founded in 1936, Wiskerchen Cheese is a 4th generation Cheese manufacturing company. This award will allow continued investment in their whey processing and storage facilities, allowing for additional value-added dairy sales.
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