The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC), hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets announces $900,000 in funding through the new Dairy Farm Innovation and Alternative Management Grant. With a focus on climate and community-forward production strategies, this grant offers funds for farmers, producer associations, and technical service providers to implement projects that enhance the resilience of our Northeast regional food system. This grant opportunity opened December 1, 2022 and closes Thursday, February 2, 2023.
“Innovation is a key component to the future success of our dairy industry, and we are excited to open this grant for our hard-working farmers to explore,” Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts said. “This investment in Vermont and our region recognizes that diversification and sound business management may make all the difference in a farms successful transition into the 21st century.”
Potential grant projects may range from creating new models for collaborative and cooperative milk production to increasing new and young farmer engagement, developing green technologies to improving appropriate farm-scale technologies, and developing alternative business ownership and management models to creating a culture of continuous improvement.
Open to applicants in 11 Northeast states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the Dairy Farm Innovation Grant supports farmers in taking a whole farm system approach and increasing collaboration with other farms or dairy sector stakeholders.
Individual grants of $15,000 to $75,000 are available with a 25% (cash or in-kind) match commitment required, totaling a $900,000 investment in innovative and alternative management systems across the Northeast. To build upon previous investment, projects coming from farmers who have received Grazing Transition, Forage Enhancement, or Alternative Farm Management Technical Assistance will receive priority access to $400,000 of the available grant funds.
The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center is funded through USDA and hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. The NE-DBIC promotes the development, production, marketing, and distribution of dairy products through market research, technical assistance, and competitive grant rounds for dairy farmers and processors.
The Center’s investment and project strategy promotes innovation and resiliency for regional production of dairy products across an 11-state Northeast region. To date, the NE-DBIC has received $38.7 million from the USDA-AMS Dairy Business Innovation Initiative.
For more information on NE-DBIC and the Dairy Innovation & Alternative Management Grant, visit: www.agriculture.vermont.gov/dbic
–Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center
Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
