Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center awarded regionwide grants; Vermont received more than $11.6 million, presenter says

Laura Ginsburg, dairy strategy and innovation manager at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, briefed the Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry committee on the work of the USDA‑funded Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center and its investments in processors and farms across 11 states.

Ginsburg said the Center was competitively selected in 2019 under the 2018 Farm Bill and has been awarded about $53,000,000 from USDA to support projects through 2027. “To date, we have been awarded $53,000,000 from USDA,” she said. The Center has awarded 367 projects totaling just under $34,000,000 and has received more than 1,000 applications, she said, giving an approximate award rate of 36 percent.

Vermont‑specific funding and examples: Ginsburg said Vermont entities received about $11,600,000 across 125 awards, with an average award near $92,000 and grant sizes ranging from $10,000 to $1,000,000. She described examples of processor and farm investments, including a $1,000,000 award to Cabot/Agri‑Mark to modernize a cracker‑cut line, a yogurt‑filling machine installed at Larson Farm that Laura said a farmer told her “it has saved our lives,” and equipment at Maplebrook Farm that increased production and reduced energy use.

Program priorities and use of funds: The Center runs several grant tracks — for on‑farm storage and handling, processor expansion, marketing and branding, workforce development and technical assistance — and Ginsburg said the program prioritizes energy and labor efficiency, employee safety, and building consumer connections to regional dairy brands. She said one special USDA grant of $19,000,000 supported larger processor expansion grants after the exit of a major organic buyer from the market.

Outcomes and technical assistance: The Center funds cohort‑based technical assistance and has engaged more than 200 farmers in over 20 cohorts; Ginsburg cited an example where a cohort saved a farm $34,000 in feed costs in one year and led to follow‑on investments totaling more than $700,000 for participating farms. She said the Center is also investing roughly $1,000,000 in workforce and apprenticeship program development.

Funding uncertainty and next steps: Ginsburg said the Center currently operates on funds from the last Farm Bill and annual appropriations, and she described some uncertainty about future reauthorization and funding in the next Farm Bill cycle. “I would say that I have a high level of confidence that the money that we have been appropriated through the USDA is safe,” she told the committee, while noting that new funding would depend on Congress and the next Farm Bill. Ginsburg said the Center will continue to share data and results with the committee and stakeholders.

The presentation prompted questions about grant types, geographic distribution of awards and whether federal funding is secure; Ginsburg said she would provide follow‑up materials and datasets to the committee.