The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to immediately release Congressionally-directed funding for the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives.
Agency officials confirmed a program freeze yesterday. WCMA says this action jeopardizes $28.6 million in grant funding. It stands to impact 420 dairy businesses nationwide.
“The funds provided through DBIs empower dairy farmers and processors to grow their capacity, explore new innovations, and become more resilient,” says WCMA Senior Director of Programs & Policy Rebekah Sweeney. “These programs are much more than money – they strengthen the fabric of America’s dairy industry.”
WCMA and the Center for Dairy Research administered the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance or DBIA, one of the four DBI centers. DBIA has 88 awards in process today, with nearly $6.5 million in outstanding promised reimbursement. Nearly 90 percent of DBIA monies have been awarded to businesses employing less than 50 people.
Bipartisan support created DBIA in the 2018 federal Farm Bill. Since then, the Alliance has awarded over $20 million across more than 250 grants to small and medium-sized Midwestern dairy farms and processors across its 11-state service area, including Wisconsin. The program also offers technical assistance to dairy farmers and processors in its service region.
“These are operations running on tight margins, hard work, and a shared passion for feeding the world, often staffed by families or a small team of community members,” says Sweeney. “They cannot afford a funding pause; they need action now.”
