Transportationand Marketing

Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives

Fiscal Year 2021 Description of Funded Projects

Number of Grants Awarded: 4

Amount of Funds Awarded: $20,199,778.00

For more information, please visit: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/dbi.

NOTE: The below project descriptions were provided by the grant recipients.

California

Recipient: California State University at Fresno, Fresno, CA

Project Type: New Initiative

Award Amount: $1,799,778

Dairy Business Innovation Initiative – Pacific Coast Coalition 

California produces more milk than any other state, yet its dairy businesses face significant 

challenges: volatile fluid milk prices, declining demand for milk, and increased costs. This extends to 

nearby states, with dairy producers and processors across the Pacific Coast region – California, 

Oregon, and Washington – struggling to remain viable. Dairy producers in each of these states 

experienced negative returns in 2020 losing an average of $1.35/hundredweight (USDA Economic 

Research Service).

Between 2012 and 2017, California lost 278 dairy farms – 17% of the state’s existing industry; Oregon 

and Washington combined lost another 178 dairies (USDA Census of Agriculture, 2012/2017). Given 

the devastating impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the industry, the outlook is even grimmer. A

collaborative effort supporting regional dairy businesses in the development, production, marketing,

and distribution of dairy products is desperately needed. As such, California State University, Fresno 

will lead a collaborative effort leveraging existing dairy industry resources, including institutions of 

higher education; state dairy promotion programs; research organizations; and industry stakeholders, 

among others, to achieve the project goal of spurring regional dairy innovation by assisting dairy 

businesses in developing higher‐value uses for their milk, diversifying their markets and income, and 

realizing increased returns.

The project goals will be accomplished through the hosting of a Pacific Coast Coalition Dairy Business 

Innovation Initiative that will 1) provide direct technical assistance to dairy businesses through hands‐

on value‐added product development consultancy; workshops; a conference, short courses and 

webinars; and university student internships and will 2) provide direct subawards to dairy businesses.
Tennessee

Recipient: University of Tennessee Center for Profitable Agriculture, Knoxville, TN

Project Type: Continuing Initiative

Award Amount: $6,133,333.33

Website: https://cpa.tennessee.edu/

Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative 

The Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative – Phase 3 of the Diversifying Income and Adding 

Value by Manufacturing Dairy Products will provide additional educational opportunities for value

added dairy producers while continuing to support initiatives from Phase 2 such as expanding the 

Dairy Gauge and on-farm assessments. Individuals wanting to begin or continue a value-added dair

business in the southeast United States are the intended audience. This program will include:

• Identifying and providing targeted support to underrepresented population dairy business 

owners in the southeast.

• Providing targeted support to small ruminant (sheep and goat) dairy business owners in the 

southeast.

• Conducting surveys on consumer preferences surrounding cosmetic and shelf stable 

products.

• Conducting a value-added dairy conference in 2024

• Recruiting a cohort of peers for MILK (Mastering Individual Leadership Knowledge) 

workshops including STRENGTH FINDERS, KAI, managing different personalities, transition 

planning, and managing stress and mental health.

• Developing and deploying a Value-Added Dairy Business Gauge and identifying vital Key

Performance Indicators.

• Developing peer groups in Kentucky and Tennessee for dairy businesses focused on financial 

management.

• Deploying eye tracking technology on value-added dairy businesses to determine consumer

purchasing habits.

• Providing scholarships for in-depth reviews with the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and

Rural Development.

• Conducting workshops centered around sensory properties and business management.

• Expanding the MarketReady program to include social media and digital marketing strategies

• Providing a Competitive Subaward Program for Southeast Value-Added Dairy Businesses

• Creating Extension fact sheets, publications, and video resources to aid value-added dairy

producers in their decision-making

Vermont

Recipient: Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Montpelier, VT

Project Type: Continuing Initiative

Award Amount: $6,133,333.33

Website: https://agriculture.vermont.gov/dbic

Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center 

The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) is taking a targeted and intentional approach

to supporting community and climate forward dairy production across the ten-state region served by

this grant funding. With a marketplace still in flux from the pandemic and a consumer base that is 

taking a more critical eye to product impacts, the time is right for the NE-DBIC to invest higher levels of
funding in technical assistance and grants that can move regional dairy forward towards a more 

resilient future. Both farmers and processors will continue to directly benefit from grant-funded

opportunities: from receiving education on how to best grow forage crops and thus reduce reliance on 

imported feeds to grant funding that will develop sustainable alternative packaging suitable for use for 

the region’s small-scale processors. Over half of total grant funds are allocated for innovation – bringing

emerging ideas and strategies into the mainstream and making them accessible to farmers and 

processors at all scales across the region. When these grant opportunities are paired with the research 

and development currently underway in from previous awards, the NE-DBIC will be able to continue to

support a strategic and cohesive approach to positioning the Northeast as the leading producer of dairy 

products that support rural communities, have a climate forward approach, and lay the foundation for 

long-term success

Wisconsin

Recipient: University of Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, Madison, WI

Project Type: Continuing Initiative

Award Amount: $6,133,333.33

Website: https://www.cdr.wisc.edu/dbia

Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA) – 2021 

The Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA), established in 2019, is a partnership between the Center

for Dairy Research (CDR) and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA). Together with 

regional collaborators across five states (WI, MN, IA, SD, IL) the DBIA provides access to expertise, 

resources and insights to support dairy business innovation.

The DBIA 2021 proposal expands and consolidates the previous programs to create a sustainable,

replicable model that promotes business innovation within the dairy industry. The initiative will 

continue to build upon the previous grant infrastructures and complete a pipeline of efforts designed to 

enable dairy farmers/processors to get their ideas off the ground and into existing and new markets 

and grow their business. This will be achieved through the following goals:

• Continue to provide financial and technical assistance to small dairy entrepreneurs & 

processors in their efforts to add value to their milk.

• Increase the support for our select DBIA cohort in the development and growth of their 

business efforts by expanding the scope of grants and technical assistance across marketing, 

financial planning and technical expertise.

• Encourage existing Industry to address critical needs across new technology, sustainability and 

marketing innovation.

• The DBIA will continue to work with regional and national collaborators as it develops programs 

with the potential for scalable application across the country.