Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Choose Iowa Dairy Innovation Grants are accepting applications for the third year. 

This grant is intended to assist smaller producers. Dairies and farmers eligible for the grant must be located in Iowa, have fewer than 50 employees, be in good standing with all relevant regulatory agencies, and be permitted and inspected by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. 

The program is for cost-share funding that supports on-farm dairy processing and innovative labor-reducing technologies. This is aimed to help bring more local dairy products to Iowa consumers. Since launch, these grants have been awarded to 35 dairy projects and leveraged approximately $6.34 million in on-farm investment.

The grant program also offers competitive matching grants of up to $100,000 per project. Eligible projects include investments in pasteurization equipment, labeling equipment, robotics, processing and packaging systems, herd health monitoring technology, automated feeding systems and other labor-saving or value-adding innovations.

Submit applications through the online portal on the Choose Iowa website. They are due by noon on April 17. Recipients are expected to be announced in June.