Grants of more than $4m available to US dairy processors
Applications are now open through February 29, 2024 for the fourth funding round, with at least $4.1m up for grabs.
Dairy producers, processors and co-packers from across Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington can apply by completing an application and two supporting documents detailing their project.
The PCC said the majority of the funding comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and will thus include pandemic recovery support.
Businesses can request up to $1m to fund their projects, but the funding will be provided on a reimbursement basis, i.e. the funding may be used to purchase items or services only after they have obtained written approval of their project from the PCC initiative. Applicants must start spending within 60 days of the official contract start date, and must complete their project no later than 12 months after its anticipated start date.
Those wishing to apply need to complete a document and complete among other details a short project summary and demonstrate what goals their project will address, e.g. create value-added products, adopting alternative processing technologies, developing sustainable pathways through packaging and processing innovation, and more.
The application and additional forms can be found here.
The PCC is also organizing webinars dedicated to crisis planning and hosted by Amy Philpott. The two sessions are taking place during January and include:
Be Crisis Ready. Don’t Bet The Business, taking place on January 18 at 4pm PST, and focuses on the significance of crisis planning, its execution, and its critical relevance amidst the current landscape of food safety regulations and consumer perceptions. Meeting ID: 890 4603 1650 / Passcode: 789446
Crisis Planning: Where the Rubber Meets the Road, scheduled for January 25 at 4pm PST is a follow-up webinar and will aim to get attendees to leverage their knowledge from the first session to craft or revise their organization's crisis plan. Meeting ID: 890 4603 1650 / Passcode: 789446
Previous round
In December 2023, 12 dairy companies from across Oregon, California and Washington received $521,764 in grant funding, each recipient bagging up to $50,000 and all awards were for equipment-related investments. The recipients ranged from a 98-year old businesses looking to diversify their line to two year-old start-ups, said project director Carmen Licon Cano, PhD.
The PCC-DBII is funded through the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service and hosted by California State University Fresno in collaboration with Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Chapman University, Chico State, Oregon State University, UC Davis, Washington State University, New Mexico State University, and the California Dairy Innovation Center.
