WCMA Calls on USDA to Reverse New Cost-Share Requirement for Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives

The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) is urging U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to reverse a newly imposed 25% cost-share requirement for the Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives, warning that mandate will prevent the four existing initiatives from continuing to provide grants and technical assistance to dairy businesses nationwide.

“The Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives are doing exactly what Congress and USDA created them to do: putting federal resources to work stabilizing dairy businesses, and helping them to innovate, diversify and grow,” said Rebekah Sweeney, WCMA Senior Director, Programs & Policy.  “Our farmers and food processors cannot afford to lose this support – especially now, as they face a host of new economic pressures.”

The four DBI initiatives – the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance, the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, the Pacific Coast Coalition–Dairy Business Innovation Initiative and the Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative – serve dairy farmers and processors in 41 states and territories, representing 87% of the nation’s milkshed.

The initiatives are housed within public universities, a state agency of agriculture and, through partnership, a nonprofit trade association. These organizations do not directly benefit financially from DBI funding and generally do not have unrestricted resources available to provide a 25% match.

The program was established by Congress in the 2018 Farm Bill and launched by USDA during the first Trump Administration with bipartisan support. Since the program’s inception, DBI centers have awarded more than $106 million in grants to 911 dairy businesses – meeting just 35% of demonstrated demand through competitive award processes.

Sweeney notes demand for DBI support has only grown over time, and is particularly acute now, as dairy farmers and processors navigate volatile markets, elevated production and transportation costs, workforce challenges, infrastructure needs and intense domestic and global competition.

“Dairy businesses need every available tool to improve efficiency, develop products, reach new markets and strengthen demand for farmers’ milk,” Sweeney said.

WCMA is urging industry leaders to contact members of Congress and USDA directly, to call for the withdrawal of the 25% cost-share requirement and a reissuance of the FY2026 DBI funding opportunity without a matching requirement.

“The Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives have a proven record of delivering results,” Sweeney said. “We urge USDA to preserve the structure that has allowed this program to put federal resources to work for dairy businesses across the country.”