MADISON, WIS. – Between its Dairy Business Builder and Dairy Industry Impact grant programs, the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA) announced it awarded close to $4 million to 41 Midwest dairy businesses.

The bulk of the grants will benefit small- to medium-sized dairy farmers and processors. DBIA issued 37 Dairy Business Builder grants to support projects that diversify on-farm activities, create value-added products or enhance dairy byproducts or export programs.

DBIA, a partnership involving the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) and Center for Dairy Research (CDR), said the business builder grants totaled $3.3 million and almost 70% of the awarded funds went to first-time recipients.

The following businesses earned Dairy Business Builder grants:

• Alpinage Cheese LLC, Oak Creek, Wis.

• Amo Creamery, Heron Lake, Mich.

• Black Radish Creamery, Alexandria, Ohio

• Blue Ice Creamery, Brighton, Ill.

• Bold Spoon Creamery, Park Hills, Mo.

• Buckeye Country Creamery / Buckeye Milk House, Rittman, Ohio

• Burnett Dairy Cooperative, Grantsburg, Wis.

• CannonBelles Cheese Inc., Cannon Falls, Mich.

• Cinnamon Ridge Inc., Donahue, Iowa

• Concept Processing, Melrose, Mich.

• Country View Dairy, Hawkeye, Iowa

• Cream Cup Dairy, Bear Lake, Mich.

• Ducks in a Row Family Farm, Arena, Wis.

• Dwight and Anita Rokey DBA Rokeyroad Holsteins, Sabetha, Kan.

• GoodSport Nutrition, Evanston, Ill.

• Happy Cows Creamery at New Horizon Farm, New Vienna, Ohio

• Hidden Springs Creamery LLC, Westby, Wis.

• Holland's Family Cheese, LLC, Thorp, Wis.

• Kuehnert Milk House, Fort Wayne, Ind.

• Marcoot Jersey Creamery LLC, Greenville, Ill.

• Mesta Meadows, LLC, Glenallen, Mo.

• Minerva Dairy Inc., Minerva, Ohio

• Protein Pints, Grand Rapids, Mich.

• Sassy Cow Creamery, Columbus, Wis.

• Semifreddo LLC, Hart, Mich.

• Shatto Farms, Osborn, Mo.

• Snowville Creamery, Pomeroy, Ohio

• Specialty Cheese Company, Reeseville, Wis.

• Stil Dreamn Dairy, Conway, Mo.

• Strack-View Farms LLC / Jersey Valley Cheese, Adell, Wis.

• Sundae Morning Dairy LLC, Ogden, Iowa

• The Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor, Forest Park, Ill.

• The Mullen Dairy & Creamery, Okeana, Ohio

• Vieira Ventures LLC DBA Swanky Scoops, Toledo, Ohio

• Voelker Creamery, Perryville, Mo.

• Westby Coop Creamery, Westby, Wis.

• Wiscon Corp (Caputo Cheese), Melrose Park, Ill.

Additionally, four dairy processors received Dairy Industry Impact grants totaling $400,000. DBIA said the grant program supports projects that have potential to impact the entire dairy industry, and for the latest rounds the projects were tied to exporting dairy products.

These companies earned Dairy Industry Impact grants:

• Milk Specialties Global, Eden Prairie, Mich.

• Rosewood Dairy, DBA Renard’s Cheese, Algoma, Wis.

• Sartori Cheese, Plymouth, Wis.

• Specialty Cheese Company, Reeseville, Wis.

CDR director John Lucey said the grant programs are “very popular.”

“We are delighted to be able to help these small dairy businesses grow and diversify their product offerings,” Lucey said. “Our goal is to increase the number of thriving farmsteads and innovative dairy manufacturers in our region.”

DBIA shared that its grants through the years have provided more than $13 million to 129 dairy businesses. A US Department of Agriculture award designed to drive dairy innovation funds DBIA. The DBIA works with companies that operate within its 11-state region of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

More information about grant opportunities is available via the CDR website.