USDA Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt visited with NE-DBIC grantees in Vermont following the USDA announcement. She is seen here chatting with Miles Hooper of Ayers Brook Goat Dairy in Randolph, VT.
The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) is excited to announce a new fund from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) augmenting the work currently underway in the four existing Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives. The funds are meant to directly benefit regional dairy businesses by supporting processing capacity expansion, on-farm improvements, and technical assistance for producers. NE-DBIC will have the opportunity to submit a proposal for up to $20 million, funded through the American Rescue Plan as part of an additional investment of $80 million by USDA in the DBI Initiatives.
Since its inception in 2019, DBI Initiatives have provided valuable technical assistance and sub-grants to dairy farmers and businesses across their regions. DBI Initiatives support activities such as business plan development, marketing and branding efforts, and increased access to innovative production and processing techniques for the development of value-added products. Separate from this supplemental ARP funding, USDA plans to announce a new DBI Request for Applications later in fiscal year 2022 contingent upon Congressional appropriations.
Read the full announcement from USDA.