On February 26, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) passed an action item supporting continued funding for the four national Dairy Business Innovation Centers, including the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA). DBIA, which is housed at UW–Madison, is a partnership between the Center for Dairy Research and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association that develops and administers programs provides assistance and funding to dairy farms and businesses in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Since 2020, DBIA has allocated nearly $20 million in grant dollars to 250+ dairy farmers and processors.
The action item from NASDA encourages Congress to retain the Dairy Business Innovation Initiative as a program in the forthcoming Farm Bill, with base funding of $36 million annually to be distributed among the four existing centers.