Federal Grants Target Small & Mid-Sized Dairy Firms with Innovation, Marketing, and Value-Add Growth.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it is awarding more than $11 million in grant funding to strengthen the domestic dairy sector, with a focus on boosting innovation, marketing, production, and distribution for small and mid-sized dairy businesses and producers. These funds are part of the Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives grant program administered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
In the current funding cycle, USDA is directing this capital noncompetitively to the four existing DBI host organizations: California State University, Fresno; University of Tennessee; Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets; and University of Wisconsin. These institutions serve as regional hubs offering technical assistance, business planning support, and subaward funds designed to help dairy businesses develop and grow their product portfolios…