Dairy Business Innovation Alliance

A new round of Dairy Business Builder grants administered by the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA) opened on February 20, 2023 for small- to medium-sized dairy farmers, manufacturers, and processors in 11 Midwestern states. Businesses in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin may apply for the funding. The reimbursement grants of up to $100,000 each aim to support recipients in diversifying on-farm activity, creating value-added products, enhancing dairy byproducts, and creating or enhancing dairy export programs. Application materials for the Dairy Business Builder grants are available online at dbia.wisc.edu. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. (CT) on April 13. Successful applicants will be notified by May 19.

DBIA Updates

New Grant Round Open!

This round, which opened August 3rd , will accept applications for both our Dairy Business Builder and Dairy Industry Impact grants. Applicants may apply to both grant programs and are eligible to request up to $100,000 in funding from each offering. Dairy Business Builder projects involving large equipment purchases are eligible to request up to $150,000.

Applicants must represent a dairy farm or dairy processing business in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota or Wisconsin and funding must be directed towards projects that diversify on-farm activity, create value-added dairy products, enhance dairy by-products, support exports, or positively impact the dairy industry as a whole. If you are unsure which grant opportunity to apply to, please reach out.

Applications are due on September 30th and award notifications will be sent out in November. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the grant programs, visit our website, watch the introductory webinar and/or reach the DBIA Program Coordinator, Tanya, at [email protected].

Bloomy Rind Affinage Webinar

On Thursday, July 30 DBIA held a Bloomy Rind Affinage webinar hosted by Ben Ullerup Mathers. A part of our Specialty Cheese Series, the webinar discussed the levers available to cheesemakers to control their bloomy rind cheese quality. For those who were unable to attend, the recording is now available to watch on our website. If you have any follow-up questions, please contact Ben at [email protected].

CALS Consulting Program

Since 2024, the DBIA Mentor Program has partnered with Renk Agribusiness Institute's CALS Consulting offered through the Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics at UW-Madison to connect classroom education with real-life business goals.

Through this program multiple DBIA companies have worked with Mentors and students to develop new social media marketing plans, evaluate new retail locations, update logistical plans, and more. This has allowed university students to learn more about the dairy industry and solve real world problems while offering free consulting to dairy businesses.