This program is closed for the time being.

If you are Pennsylvania-based dairy processor who wants to make a processing expansion, improvement or innovation, consider applying for a Dairy Processing Grant. Dairy processors receiving milk from two or more farms are eligible. Qualifying expenses would be design, planning and implementation costs associated with the improvement project. Click here to see how one PA dairy processor utilized the grant.

Grant funding will be a 50 percent match, up to a maximum limit matching level of $10,000. Program support is made possible through Ag Excellence funding provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Eligibility and Requirements

Eligible applicants are dairy processing facilities within Pennsylvania that are currently receiving milk from two or more Pennsylvania dairy farms.

Farm-based processing facilities procuring milk from a single farm are not eligible to receive this grant, as they are eligible for three other Center grant programs, including the Dairy Decisions Consultant Grant, the Transformation Team Grant, and the Dairy Excellence Grant.

Qualifying expenses include anything related to the design, planning and implementation of a project that would expand the processing plant’s ability to offer additional products made from milk and/or expand into new markets for Pennsylvania dairy. The project should focus on expansion, improvements, or innovations within the plant itself.

Upon moving forward with their acceptance into the program, applicants must agree to provide feedback on the success of their project and its impact on their overall operation.

Must agree to comply with all applicable Federal, State and Local license requirements and Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board regulations.

Questions?

Contact Melissa Anderson at 717-636-0779 or manderson@centerfordairyexcellence.org.

Download a 2023-24 expense reimbursement form.

Click here to download a W-9 form.

With the margins we work off of in the dairy industry, anything we can get is helpful to put toward the growth of a product. This grant went a long way. We get a whole lot more capacity out of our sour cream department than we’ve ever done in the history of my 44 years here. You can’t survive on milk margins alone. You have to stay on your toes in this business. The bottom line is, innovation is what’s going to drive your business. It won’t survive without it.

Bill Schneider, President of Schneider's Dairy