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Additional federal dollars go to dairy innovation grants

The federal government has awarded additional dollars to the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives grant program.  The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development announced the new $22.9 million in awards to support dairy businesses and producers last week. 

Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin authored the bill creating the program in 2018, and as subcommittee chair, was able to push for the additional dollars.  This is in addition to the 80 million awarded to four DBI initiatives in June using money from the American Rescue Plan.

Baldwin says farmers, cheesemakers, and dairy processors can continue to innovate and develop new dairy products, face supply chain challenges, grow their operations, modernize their dairy plants and reach new markets.

The $22.9 million in federal funding is being awarded non-competitively to the four current DBI Initiatives at the California State University Fresno, the University of Tennessee, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, and the University of Wisconsin.