The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced 13 Wisconsin dairy companies will receive a 2026 Dairy Processor Grant.
These grants help local dairy processors with innovative projects to modernize and grow their businesses, produce new products, or expand their markets, while improving profitability and sustaining the long-term viability of Wisconsin’s dairy processing facilities.
Since 2014, DATCP has received 283 Dairy Processor Grant proposals requesting more than $12.1 million. DATCP has funded 148 of those proposals, totaling $3.8 million. With such significant interest in these grants, Gov. Tony Evers increased investments in the Dairy Processor Grant Program, and the 2025-27 Biennial Budget brought total funding for the program to $1.2 million over the biennium.
“Wisconsin’s dairy processors are an important part of the success of the state’s dairy industry and in maintaining Wisconsin’s position as America’s Dairyland,” says DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski. “These grants allow processors to continue innovating, adapting, and meeting the demands of consumers, and interest in these grants remains strong.”
A total of $600,000 was available for this year’s Dairy Processor Grants, with a maximum of $50,000 allowed for each project. Grant recipients are required to provide a match of at least 20 percent of the grant amount. DATCP received 16 grant requests totaling more than $743,000.
Meet the 2026 Dairy Processor Grant recipients:
- Briess in Chilton to invest in an upgrade of control systems.
- Organic Valley in La Farge to conduct consumer research to inform Organic Valley’s butter production and marketplace strategy to increase butter profitability at the Chaseburg Creamery.
- Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese in Waterloo to complete a major facility expansion to strengthen the ability to meet growing customer demand.
- Hidden Springs Creamery in Westby to develop a new market outreach platform to help attract more consumers to Hidden Springs and to promote Wisconsin’s sheep industry.
- Hill Valley Dairy in Milwaukee to modernize and improve methods of food traceability, cheese aging, and cheese sales.
- Hollands Family Farm in Thorp to implement technical support to optimize packaging and shipping operations at Marieke Gouda.
- Milk Specialties Company (Actus Nutrition) in Fond du Lac to investigate the potential of Milk Basic Proteins (MBP) as a value-added dairy ingredient.
- Pine River Dairy in Manitowoc to modernize butter packaging equipment to increase production capacity, enhance product quality, and expand market reach.
- Pine River Pre-Pack in Newton to install a natural gas line and replace the existing fuel oil-burning boiler and tank water heater at the processing facility.
- Rosewood Dairy Inc. (Renard’s Cheese) in Sturgeon Bay to construct a stand-alone building to house several self-serve AI “smart coolers.”
- Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville to invest in engineering and design services required to install a pasteurizer, which will provide food safety protection.
- Westby Creamery in Westby to modernize and replace the plug valve on valving system to improve sanitary connections to the silo to improve efficiency.
- Widmer’s Cheese Cellars in Theresa to complete a new and improved milk intake design proposal.
