The Farm Infrastructure Improvement Grant provides reimbursement funds to permitted dairy farm businesses located in the Southeast who are seeking funds to make farm facility updates.
Donor Name: Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative (SDBII)
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant | Matching Grants | Reimbursement
Deadline: 03/04/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Dairy businesses in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico are eligible. Applications must be submitted by current licensed dairy businesses only. For the purposes of evaluating eligibility, dairy businesses are considered to include companies that are engaged in the production and/or processing of milk for commercial consumption and are permitted to do so by state and federal authorities. Eligible businesses may be involved in the production or processing of milk from cattle, sheep, goats, water buffalos, camels, and other dairy species. Projects that involve investments related to the sale of raw milk for human or pet consumption are not allowed.
Priorities
The purpose of awards in this category will be to support operational and management strategies that improve labor, production, and marketing efficiencies to help increase sustainability and competitiveness of Southeastern US dairies. Requests for funds under the Farm Infrastructure Improvement Grant should relate to one of the following areas and offer a justification for how the selected strategy will quantifiably improve the farm operation. Below are suggested priority funding areas, but proposals outside of these areas may be considered.
- Improvements to existing facilities to reduce the impact of heat stress and seasonal milk production swings
- Increasing water and feed access
- Implementation or upgrading of cooling systems (laminar flow fans, misters/sprinklers, coolers, curtains, etc.)
- Improving cow cooling and heat abatement for cattle with outdoor access
- Investments in raw milk storage, cooling capacity, and/or transportation efficiency
- Purchasing a new bulk tank with greater storage and/or cooling efficiency
- Chillers, plate coolers, milk loading systems, and pipelines
- Hiring a contractor or technical assistance service to identify partnerships, needs, and feasibility for new milk handling opportunities
- Modernization and improvements to milk harvest
- Investing in equipment to increase parlor throughput and labor efficiency (animal management, sort gates, crowd gates, identification systems, etc.)
- Investing in more efficient on-farm milk cooling and/or storage (increasing size or number of bulk tanks, direct loading, etc.)
- Improvements to feed and forage management and storage opportunities
- Short term or small batch feed storage (AgBags, grain storage, etc.)
- Mixer wagons, etc.
- Harvesting implements, silage inoculators, etc.
- Improvements to animal housing and environments
- Upgrades to loops in stalls to account for changes in animal sizes
- Upgrades to permanent stall bases (gel mattresses, water beds, etc.)
- Improving cleaning procedures of animal housing (scrapers, flush systems, bedding management equipment, gutters, etc.)
- Water, waste, and manure management improvements
- Installation of water reclaim/reuse systems
- Installation of recycling facilities (sand-separators, etc.)
- Solid-liquid separation storage and utilization strategies that bring value to the farm (solids composting, etc.)
Funding Information
$100,000 maximum award; 25% matching funds requirement.
Eligibility Criteria
Dairy businesses that operate a licensed dairy farm in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, or Puerto Rico are eligible to apply. Eligible applicants may not have an immediate family member (i.e., parent, sibling, spouse, or child), working as an affiliated staff or faculty member with SDBII. Priority will be given to the following:
- Entities that received direct technical assistance through SDBII
- Dairy businesses with limited access to other forms of assistance
For more information, visit SDBII.
