Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center

09/02/2026

"It took guts and more than $500,000 of pandemic business-support funding, paired with a Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center grant, to build processing and bottling plants — each in a shipping container — to try to make a better margin on some of their milk. Almost six years in, the bottled products are sold throughout the Northeast. The family expects to hit $1 million in branded milk sales this year."

Targeting funding for dairy farms and processors make a difference – for dairy businesses and consumers. Check out this article on Miller Farm's partnership with the University of Vermont, and how grant funding played a role in expanding the dairy farm's sales:

The fifth-generation Vernon dairy struck a deal for its creamline chocolate milk to become the post-workout recovery drink for university sports teams.

09/02/2026

September is Food Safety Education Month. Whether you run a local creamery or a larger facility, keeping your team's training fresh is always top of mind.

Have you checked out the newly relaunched Safe Cheesemaking Hub yet? We completely refreshed this free online library to serve as a practical toolkit for your everyday operations. Inside, you'll find new tools like the updated ACS Best Practices Guide, clear pathogen control insights, and our brand-new suite of bilingual training videos in both English and Spanish.

🔗 Visit the Safe Cheesemaking Hub: https://loom.ly/_KNM8nQ

08/28/2026

Join the UVM Extension Dairy Team for the Future-Ready Dairy Farm Tour Series 🐄

Next up: Adapting to Build a Resilient Future at Skyline Holsteins. Tuesday, September 1, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

We'll talk efficiency, profitability, and resilience through technology, diversification, and herd and crop management strategies.

These informal farm tours and conversations offer a chance to hear directly from producers about what is working on their farms, lessons learned along the way, and what they are most excited about for the future of their businesses and the dairy industry. All are welcome!

Register here: https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=882216&

08/27/2026

Vermont Farmstead Cheese Co. just launched their new packaging, supported by an NE-DBIC Dairy Marketing & Branding Services Grant. Check it out! Great work all around by Vermont Farmstead and Rival Brands. We can't wait to see this in stores!

08/26/2026

Round 2 of the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets Dairy Farm Modernization Grant is open now!

Funding is available for capital projects related to the following activities:

*Expansion of on-farm milk storage capacity
*Efficiency improvements directly related to milk storage or transportation
*Milk transfer systems
*Cooling technologies
*Other purposes deemed necessary to further opportunities for dairy farmers to transport or store their products.

Applications are open now through October 28. Learn more:

Round 1 of the NYS Dairy Modernization Grant Program was awarded June 2, 2025: Governor Hochul Announces $21.6 Million Awarded to More Than 100 Farms to Support New York's Dairy Industry​

08/25/2026

With funding from the Catalyzing Regional Dairy Workforce Grant, Wolfe’s Neck Center is transforming the DGA program for the Northeast.

08/21/2026

The first of its kind in the US: a mobile parlor for dairy sheep 🐑 at Oaklands Farm in Maine!

This innovative project was funded by NE-DBIC’s Goat & Sheep Dairy Development Grant.

Oaklands is currently milking 50 East Freesians, with plans to expand to 75 next year. The mobile parlor moves every three days as the flock grazes on pasture.

They’re making soft and aged sheep cheeses, along with mixed milk cheese to complement their cows milk aged cheese.

Learn more about Oaklands here: https://oaklandsfarmmaine.com/about 🐑

08/18/2026

“This project was not an endpoint—it was a launchpad."

In 2023, Wright's Dairy Farm & Bakery (official site) of North Smithfield, RI received a $425,642 NE-DBIC Existing Dairy Processor Expansion Grant.

Thanks to the grant, Wright's has increased capacity, food safety, labor safety and efficiency. They've *quadrupled* weekly deliveries to the Rhode Island Food Shelf! And they've secured a new partnership with Dave’s Fresh Marketplace, a 9-store independent chain across Rhode Island.

On top of all that, the Rhode Island Department of Health designated Wright’s new processing plant as a “model facility.”

See more about their project and impacts here:

With an NE-DBIC Existing Dairy Processor Expansion Grant, Wright's Dairy has increased capacity, efficiency, and brought more local milk to Rhode Islanders.

08/12/2026

🐮 💭 If you've been dreaming of the next big value-added dairy product, Dairy Runway is here to help!

This NE-DBIC funded program is accepting applications for its free entrepreneurship program that helps early-stage food innovators develop, test, and refine new dairy products. Dairy Runway is open to food and beverage entrepreneurs across the Northeast using cow, goat, or sheep milk produced in the region.

The August virtual info session is TOMORROW, Thursday, August 13 from 9 – 10 a.m. ET. 🧀 🍨 🧈 Applications close in September, so this is the perfect time to learn more at the Dairy Runway website: https://dairyinnovation.org/dairy-runway-program/

08/12/2026

We don't know who decides these things, but we're all-in on National Goat Cheese Month.

Tangy, fluffy, and perfect with jam, bread, or just a spoon (we won't tell!), chevre is the most well-known goat cheese. But the deliciousness doesn't stop there! Goat dairies have grown all over the northeast, offering anything and everything goat-y your heart desires. 🐐 🧀

Don't be baa-shful: this is the perfect month to try out everything that goat cheese has to offer, from creamy, to crumbly, to sliceable!