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.

 

News

DBIA Awards More than $3.5M in Grants to Midwest Dairy Processors, Including Three from Iowa

Cinnamon Ridge Inc: Cinnamon Ridge, an Iowa farmstead and creamery, is improving its cheese production by acquiring new equipment and upgrading storage facilities. The project focuses on improving efficiency, quality, and sanitation to meet customer expectations and drive sales growth.

Hightail: Hightail is upgrading equipment to increase cheese curd production and meet high demand. The project includes purchasing multiple pieces of equipment to improve efficiency and product quality at their Iowa facility.

Lost Lake Farm LLC: Lost Lake Farm is diversifying into artisan grass-fed butter production to increase sales and meet customer demand. The project includes purchasing equipment and hiring a production apprentice to support growth in Iowa.

 

DBIA Updates

New Grant Cycle Now Open

The next round of DBIA Dairy Business Builder Grants opens Monday, February 23. Targeted at small- to medium-sized farmers and processors, the program supports projects that diversify on-farm activities, create value-added products, or enhance dairy by-products or export programs. Applicants may request up to $150,000 in reimbursable grant funding. The application will close on Wednesday, April 22, and award notifications will be issued in June. Additional information about the grant program is available on our website, and the application guide can be accessed here.

This round we will not be hosting a live informational webinar. Instead, we have pre-recorded a helpful hints webinar for all applicants to view.

Important changes to the application:

  • Quotes are now required for any single item over $5000, as well as all equipment
  • You must now describe what any personnel will be doing for the project within the Budget Explanation section

If you have any questions about your application, feel free to contact Tanya (tcarney@cdr.wisc.edu) by early April to set up a meeting.

Cave Aging Webinar

Last month CDRs Lead for Specialty Cheese, Ben Ullerup Mathers, led an informational Cave Aging webinar that explored common ripening room configurations and challenges for cave-aged cheese, as well as basic ripening room troubleshooting. You can view the recording here and contact Ben (bmathers@cdr.wisc.edu) with any questions.

If there are topics you would like us to explore in future webinars, please let us know!