The Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA), a partnership between the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) and the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced the 31 companies and cooperatives that have been selected to receive Dairy Business Builder grants totaling nearly $2.5 million.
The Dairy Business Builder grant program aims to encourage small- to medium-sized dairy farmers, entrepreneurs, and processors in the Midwest to pursue innovative projects such as dairy farm diversification, on-farm processing, value-added product creation, and efforts to market dairy products for export. Reimbursement grants of up to $100,000 each are awarded following a competitive review process.
The five Hoosier dairies that were awarded funding are:
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- Twin Springs Creamery
- Rebuilding S. Indiana’s Dairy System through a Local Farmer Collective, $99,930,
- Goat Milk Stuff LLC
- Manufacture and Sales of Goat Milk Caramel Sauce, $100,000
- Indiana Grown member
- Freshly Dairy
- Dairy Beverage Business Expansion, $99,922
- Indiana Grown member
- Sirocco Ridge Farmstead Creamery, LLC
- Development of Gelato and Hard Cheese from Farm-Produced Goat Milk, $31,384
- Indiana Grown member
- JB’s Barnyard
- JB’s Barnyard – Expanding Our Ice Cream Business, One Scoop at a Time, $78,807
- Twin Springs Creamery
The DBIA is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Including the awards listed above, since its inception as part of the 2018 Farm Bill, the DBIA has administered approximately $7 million in grants to 88 dairy businesses within its 11-state service area of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The program also offers technical assistance and education to dairy farmers and processors in the region.
