Four Dairy Business Innovation Centers will be responsible to match 25 percent of federal funding
Members of the U.S. dairy industry are worried about how new federal directives could affect business development in the sector.
Close to 30 state and agriculture and dairy organizations wrote to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to express concern over a new rule regarding Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives which bridge the gap between industry ideas and specialized expertise and resources.
Hansen’s Dairy in Hudson, Iowa, for example, received support to purchase a new bottle-filler and cheese press.
And Milkhaus Dairy in Fennimore, Wis., received funding to conduct a feasibility study on product and market opportunities.
The new rule beginning in fiscal year 2026 would see the four regional centers (University of Tennessee, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, University of Wisconsin, and California State University, Fresno) be responsible for matching 25 percent of federal funding up to $1 million.
Since the DBI Initiatives were created in the 2018 Farm Bill, Congress has footed the entire bill for the program.
“The new cost-share requirement puts that effective model at risk,” an Oct. 12 letter to Secretary Rollins signed by groups like the National Milk Producers Federation and the Midwest Dairy Coalition says. “The four existing initiatives are housed at public universities, a state department of agriculture, and a university/industry partnership. They do not have resources available to satisfy a 25 percent match, and they do not directly benefit from any dollars awarded.”
The current application window is open until Dec. 1.
About $12.65 million is available to fund DBI projects.
If divided equally and each center received $3.16 million, then each center would also be responsible for contributing $790,000 to its work.
Forcing this cost requirement on the institutions could lead to the program’s demise, says Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin.
“By imposing this new requirement, USDA is adding a financial condition that Congress never intended and that could effectively bring a successful, bipartisan program to an end,” she said in a separate letter to Secretary Rollins.