LAFAYETTE, NY – Byrne Dairy, Inc., received a $1 million grant that the company revealed it will use to expand its extended shelf-life (ESL) and aseptic operations at its facility in DeWitt, NY.

The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) awarded one of its 35 Existing Dairy Processor Expansion Grants to Byrne, which received the highest amount of funds awarded through the grant this year.

The company shared that it plans to install an ultra-high temperature (UHT) processing system at the DeWitt plant for ESL and aseptic production of milk and cream.

“We’re grateful to NE-DBIC for recognizing the importance of this processing expansion,” said Carl Byrne, president of Byrne Dairy. “Increasing our processing capacity is good news for farmers in the Northeast who supply the milk. Milk and cream products made from milk supplied by Northeast producers will be sold to consumers throughout the eastern United States and beyond.”

The US Department of Agriculture provided NE-DBIC with $20 million for “the stability and viability of Northeast regional dairy.” The Northeast Dairy Taskforce had recommended heavily investing in “existing successful track-record processors positioned to scale production quickly.”

Byrne, celebrating its 90^th anniversary this year, was one of five processors that handle more than 100,000 pounds of milk per day to receive funding.

Recently, Byrne invested $25 million to upgrade its dairy processing facility in Cortlandville, NY. Originally built in 2014, the plant was retooled to produce ESL and shelf-stable dairy products. Expansion of the facility was completed in 2022.