Last Call: On-Farm Milk Storage & Handling Grant
By Kim Burns, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
Applications for the On-Farm Milk Storage & Handling Grant from the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) are due October 6th, 2022 at 2:00pm. The grant supports dairy farmers to improve equipment related to milk storage, handling, and energy efficiency. Awards range from $15,000 to $50,000 with a 25% match commitment. Match waivers are available.
Applicants can select from a pre-approved list of eligible specialized equipment, which includes milk storage tanks, milk pipeline, glycol chillers, milk loading systems, reclaim systems for water, cooling equipment, plate coolers/heat exchangers, and equipment installation costs. Projects must show that they will address inefficiencies around labor, energy, and product waste as it relates to milk processing. Learn more at https://agriculture.vermont.gov/dbic/grants/farm-milk-storage-handling-…
Two NE-DBIC funding opportunities opening soon
By Kim Burns, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) will launch two grant opportunities for dairy businesses this fall. For more information about these grants and others upcoming, visit: https://agriculture.vermont.gov/dbic/grants .
Dairy Food Safety & Certification Grant
The Dairy Food Safety & Certification Grant will launch in mid-October. It offers support to dairy farmers, processors, and/or producer associations to improve the safety of dairy products. It will also improve regional dairy's marketability. Projects can include accessing technical assistance, audits, food safety plan development, training, testing fees, and certain infrastructure upgrades. Projects that use food safety improvements to access new markets will have priority.
Grants for this project will range from $10,000 - $40,000 with a 25% required match commitment. For more information, visit agriculture.vermont.gov/dbic/grants/dairy-food-safety-certification-grant or contact Brockton.Corbett@vermont.gov or 802-498-5111.
Dairy Farm Innovation Grant
The Dairy Farm Innovation Grant will launch in November. It will fund projects across farm production and business operations that support community- and climate-forward production. This grant will take a whole farm system approach. It will also increase collaboration with other farms or dairy sector stakeholders. Projects may address some of the following issues: switching breeds, creating new models for collaborative/cooperative milk production, increased young farmer engagement, alternative business ownership/management models, development of green technologies, farm-scale appropriate technology improvements, or creating a culture of continuous improvement. The NE-DBIC will also allow projects to address issues that are not listed above.
This grant will range from $10,000 to $75,000 with a 25% match commitment required. For more information, visit agriculture.vermont.gov/dbic/grants/dairy-farm-innovation-grant or contact Kathryn.Donovan@vermont.gov or 802-585-4571.
Grantee Spotlight: Vermont Shepherd Talks Sheep
By Brockton Corbett, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
In any industry, creating support for new and existing professionals is vital to its success. This is just as true in the northeast dairy industry as any other. It’s important that this support comes from experienced professionals who have been in the field, sometimes literally, for some time.
Vermont Shepherd is a family-owned and operated sheep and dairy farm located in Putney, Vermont. With over 30 years of experience, the owners of the farm have a strong understanding of the landscapes their business exists in. They understand the opportunity that the goat and sheep dairy supply chains represent in Vermont, and they are excited to share their expertise with other folks interested in cultivating and/or maintaining a flock of their own.
In 2021, Vermont Shepherd was awarded a Goat and Sheep Dairy Supply Chain grant for $42,062.00 from the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center. This grant is contributing to the supply chain in a few ways. Firstly, it is enhancing the genetic pool available to Vermont farmers. Secondly, it is enabling them to work with new and existing farmers and teach them how to manage a flock and produce high quality products. Vermont Shepherd is also working with the public to increase understanding of sheep and sheep dairy products.
To achieve their goal of improving the genetic pool of dairy sheep in the area, Vermont Shepherd is employing two techniques: milk metering and regular infectious disease testing. Milk metering collects milk from each of the ewes allowing Vermont Shepherd to analyze the milk’s quality and quantity. They can selectively breed ewes with the best milk production using this information. In addition, regularly testing their lambs for infectious disease will ensure the sheep stock is healthy. These methods guarantee that the sheep stock Vermont Shepherd sells to other farmers in the region will be healthy and produce increased volumes of high-quality milk.
In addition to improving the sheep stock in the area, Vermont Shepherd is also delivering an educational workshop series to a cohort of new and existing sheep dairy farmers. They are recruiting participants from surrounding states. The workshops educate participants on how to run and operate a sheep farm and dairy with topics including lambing, milking, pasture management, dairy sheep health, and processing, and marketing sheep milk products. Drawing on their decades of experience and pulling in experts to teach, workshops like these are invaluable to new and existing farmers, especially for an industry that has largely been out of the spotlight. As consumers interest only grows in sheep and goat products, as highlighted in research funded by NE-DBIC, opportunities to educate new farmers is key to the success of dairy farmers in the Northeast.
If you get a chance, go visit the folks and flock at Vermont Shepherd!
caption: Vermont Shepherd was one of the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center's recipients of the Goat and Sheep Dairy Supply Chain Grant from 2021.