Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA)

Technical Assistance and Grants for Midwest Dairy Farms and Businesses

The Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA) is a partnership between the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) that develops and administers programs providing technical assistance as well as grants to dairy farms and businesses in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

DBIA Goals

The overall DBIA goal is to find ways to improve the profitability of dairy farmers and processors. This goal is in alignment with the stated objectives of the initiative.

• Increase on-farm diversification opportunities
• Create value-added dairy products such as specialty cheeses
• Focus on export opportunities for farm-scale and processor dairy products

DBIA History

The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill created the Dairy Business Innovation Initiative to assist dairy farmers and dairy processors in creating new revenue streams through farm diversification and the creation of “higher value” food and beverage products containing a dairy ingredient.

DBIA Grants

DBIA offers two different grant programs, the Dairy Business Builder (twice per year, spring and fall) and the Dairy Industry Impact (once per year, fall only). Each grant offers a maximum award of $100,000 for dairy businesses.

Funding for the DBIA was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM190100XXXXG079 and grant AM200100XXXXG001. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.