Financial & Planning Resources
There are an array of financial and planning resources in Pennsylvania available to individuals who are thinking of starting their own dairy business, upgrading their facilities or expanding their operation.
Grants and Loans
Many grant and loan opportunities exist for Pennsylvania dairy businesses wanting to upgrade or expand their operation. The trick is knowing where to find them. For links directly to various grant and loan resources within the commonwealth, click here.
Business Planning Grant
The Business Planning Assistance Program, managed by the Pennsylvania Dairy Stakeholders, is a grant-funded program designed to encourage dairy producers to develop and follow business plans for their farms. This program began in January 1999 and has since paid out over $62,000 to more than 45 dairy farm businesses, with the program covering 75 percent of the eligible costs for on-farm business planning, up to a maximum of $1,500 per farm. Click here for more information.
Business Consultants
Click here for a listing of professional agricultural consultants who have expressed interest in providing professional assistance to dairy producers participating in the Business Planning Assistance Program. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement of these persons or companies. However, these individuals have been identified as having expertise in dairy business planning.
Business Planning Guide
The PA Dairy Task Force Business Management Committee, in collaboration with Kutztown University Small Business Center, has developed training and other resources to help producers develop their own business plans. The two templates focus on business planning for traditional operations and business planning for expansion projects. Video segments focusing on different aspects of planning have been developed as well. Check back here in mid-2008 to view this resource.
As part of the planning tool, the templates include a "My Dairy Concept" PowerPoint for dairy farm families to use in developing their business plan. Click on the link below to access that tool.
My Dairy Concept
Northeast Dairy Tool Fact Sheet
The Northeast Dairy Leadership Team has put together a fact sheet outlining many of the business tools and resources available to dairy producers in the Northeast. Click here to view that fact sheet.
Other resources on the Web
A wealth of other resources to can be found on the Center's Web site, as well as on our allied partners' Web sites, including:
Penn State Dairy Alliance
Pennsylvania Dairy Stakeholders
Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania