The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced $23 million in awards to support dairy businesses and producers under the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives (DBI) grant program. The initiatives support small and mid-sized dairy businesses in the development, production, marketing, and distribution of dairy products.

“Since 2019, the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives have made significant impacts to the dairy industry and the agricultural economy as a whole through the funding of 441 projects,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “Today’s additional funding will allow the initiatives to continue to provide the dairy industry and its businesses with tools and resources to ensure a steady supply of dairy products is available to consumers across the country.”

This year’s funds are being awarded noncompetitively to the four current DBI Initiatives at the California State University Fresno, the University of Tennessee, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, and the University of Wisconsin. The initiatives will use the funding to provide valuable technical assistance and subaward funds to dairy farmers and businesses across their regions, supporting them with business plan development, marketing, and branding, as well as increasing access to innovative production and processing techniques to support the development of value-added products.

For more information, visit the AMS Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives webpage. Dairy farmers and businesses interested in the program must contact the appropriate initiative to be considered for direct technical assistance or a subaward.

AMS supports U.S. food and agricultural product market opportunities, while increasing consumer access to fresh, healthy foods through applied research, technical services, and congressionally funded grants. To learn more about AMS’s investments in enhancing and strengthening agricultural systems, visit www.ams.usda.gov/grants.