Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today announced that 11 Iowa dairy farms and businesses have been awarded Choose Iowa Dairy Innovation Grants. The announcement was made during a Dairy Month visit to Gav-n-view Farm near Lansing, one of this year's grant recipients. The grant program is administered by Choose Iowa within the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
The Choose Iowa Dairy Innovation Grant Program offers competitive matching grants of up to $100,000 per project, with a one-to-one financial match required, to support on-farm dairy processing and labor-saving technologies. Eligible projects include investments in processing and packaging equipment, robotics, automated feeding systems, herd health monitoring technology, and other value-added innovations. The 11 projects announced today will receive a total of $614,620.35 in cost-share funding and leverage more than $1.27 million in total investment, helping dairy farmers improve efficiency, expand processing capacity, and bring more Iowa-made dairy products to market.
“Choose Iowa is creating new opportunities for farmers, food businesses, and consumers, and these Dairy Innovation Grants are a great example of that work in action,” said Secretary Naig. “Iowa consumers increasingly want to know where their food comes from and support local producers, and Choose Iowa is helping make those connections every day. These grants help dairy farmers add value to what they already do so well by expanding processing capacity, developing new products, and adopting technologies that improve efficiency. The result is more fresh, wholesome and nutritious Iowa-made dairy products on store shelves, stronger farm businesses, and more dollars staying in local communities.”
Source : iowaagriculture.gov