Latest news with #DairyModernizationGrantProgram
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
100 dairy farms in New York get over $21 million from state
Jun. 2—LOWVILLE — New York state is pushing more than $21 million in grant money out to over 100 dairy farms statewide, part of a long-term push to enhance and expand the state's upstate milk and milk product industry. On Monday at Glory Days dairy farm in Lowville, state Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball announced the funding through the state Dairy Modernization Grant program as the state kicked off June Dairy Month. "New York's dairy industry is the backbone of our agricultural economy, supporting thousands of jobs across our rural communities," said Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul. The Governor had successfully pushed for this program in budget negotiations last year. "With this $26 million investment through the Dairy Modernization Grant Program, we're giving hardworking dairy farmers and cooperatives the tools they need to grow, innovate and lead in a changing market. This is how we honor our agricultural legacy — by making sure it has a strong and sustainable future," Hochul said. Across the north country, 15 farms will get a combined $3.3 million in state grant money — in Central New York will get more than $3.9 million, and in the Finger Lakes, 20 farms are getting more than $4.3 million. The money can be used for projects on dairy farms to expand or improve storage, improve transportation and strengthen operations — it helps farmers buy newer, more efficient equipment and is run with an eye towards increasing environmental protection, efficiency and farm operation health. The program requires that each grant-funded project demonstrate a path towards expanding storage, increasing energy efficiency, improving food safety, saving work hours, decreasing raw milk dumping or making the farm more resilient economically. Each project must achieve at least two of those listed goals. "The Dairy Modernization Grant Program gives farms like ours the opportunity to progress and innovate and continue being the lifeblood of our communities," said Amy Beyer, owner of Glory Days Farm. "This program encourages the adoption of efficient technology that improves food safety with more consideration to environmental impacts, securing the future of dairy in New York." This new grant program is authorized for another $10 million round in 2026 — and Hochul indicated that further funding will be headed to the dairy industry for research and climate-resiliency work in the future. "Our dairy farmers and processors are second to none when it comes to the care they give to the land and their animals and the quality of their milk products," said Ball, the state Agriculture Commissioner. "I am so pleased to see this funding being awarded to these deserving farms, who will now have the additional resources they need to ensure that they can continue to provide the very best milk and dairy products, and keep operations and the supply chain going, even in the event of severe weather or emergency events." This grant funding comes as the New York dairy industry sees major investments in plants and farms across the state. In April, Gov. Hochul and regional lawmakers attended the groundbreaking of a new, $1.2 billion Chobani company plant in Oneida County, which will become the largest single-site natural food processing center in the country and increase fluid milk demand by multiple billions of pounds per year. New York has already pumped $23 million into that project alone, with another $73 million in tax credits for job creation set aside once the facility starts hiring. A handful of other major projects, including a Fairlife milk processing plant in western New York, a $30 million expansion of the Agri-Mark cheese facility in Chateaugay, Franklin County, a $150 million Cayuga Marketing milk plant in Auburn, a $621 million cheese plant in Franklinville, Cattaraugus County, are expected to increase demand for milk in New York by more than 35% by 2030. New York already has nearly 300 processing facilities for milk and milk products, served with more than 16 billion pounds of milk per year from over 3,000 dairy farms, over 95% of which are family-owned and operated.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NYS dairy farms get over $21 million for modernization, resiliency projects
Jun. 2—LOWVILLE — New York state is pushing over $21 million in grant money out to over 100 dairy farms statewide, part of a long-term push to enhance and expand the state's upstate milk and milk product industry. On Monday at Glory Days dairy farm in Lowville, state Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball announced the funding through the state Dairy Modernization Grant program as the state kicked off June Dairy Month. "New York's dairy industry is the backbone of our agricultural economy, supporting thousands of jobs across our rural communities," said Governor Kathleen C. Hochul. The Governor had successfully pushed for this program in budget negotiations last year. "With this $26 million investment through the Dairy Modernization Grant Program, we're giving hardworking dairy farmers and cooperatives the tools they need to grow, innovate and lead in a changing market. This is how we honor our agricultural legacy — by making sure it has a strong and sustainable future," Hochul said. Across the north country, 15 farms will get a combined $3.3 million in state grant money — in central New York will get more than $3.9 million, and in the Finger Lakes, 20 farms are getting more than $4.3 million. The money can be used for projects on dairy farms to expand or improve storage, improve transportation and strengthen operations — it helps farmers buy newer, more efficient equipment and is run with an eye towards increasing environmental protection, efficiency and farm operation health. The program requires that each grant-funded project demonstrate a path towards expanding storage, increasing energy efficiency, improving food safety, saving work hours, decreasing raw milk dumping or making the farm more resilient economically. Each project must achieve at least two of those listed goals. "The Dairy Modernization Grant Program gives farms like ours the opportunity to progress and innovate and continue being the lifeblood of our communities," said Amy Beyer, owner of Glory Days Farm. "This program encourages the adoption of efficient technology that improves food safety with more consideration to environmental impacts, securing the future of dairy in New York." This new grant program is authorized for another $10 million round in 2026 — and Hochul indicated that further funding will be headed to the dairy industry for research and climate-resiliency work in the future. "Our dairy farmers and processors are second to none when it comes to the care they give to the land and their animals and the quality of their milk products," said Ball, the state Agriculture Commissioner. "I am so pleased to see this funding being awarded to these deserving farms, who will now have the additional resources they need to ensure that they can continue to provide the very best milk and dairy products, and keep operations and the supply chain going, even in the event of severe weather or emergency events." This grant funding comes as the New York dairy industry sees major investments in plants and farms across the state. In April, Gov. Hochul and regional lawmakers attended the groundbreaking of a new, $1.2 billion Chobani company plant in Oneida County, which will become the largest single-site natural food processing center in the country and increase fluid milk demand by multiple billions of pounds per year. New York has already pumped $23 million into that project alone, with another $73 million in tax credits for job creation set aside once the facility starts hiring. A handful of other major projects, including a Fairlife milk processing plant in western New York, a $30 million expansion of the Agri-Mark cheese facility in Chateaugay, Franklin County, a $150 million Cayuga Marketing milk plant in Auburn, a $621 million cheese plant in Franklinville, Cattaraugus County, are expected to increase demand for milk in New York by more than 35% by 2030. New York already has nearly 300 processing facilities for milk and milk products, served with more than 16 billion pounds of milk per year from over 3,000 dairy farms, over 95% of which are family-owned and operated.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
State hands out first round of dairy modernization grants
LOWVILLE, N.Y. (WWTI) – Dairy farms are hoping to get a shot in the arm from the first round of funding from New York State to help with modernization. Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Monday nearly $21.6 million has been awarded to 103 farms across the state through the Dairy Modernization Grant Program to support New York's dairy industry. Need for milk once Chobani expands to Rome seems promising to family dairy farms The awards were announced this morning at a special event at Glory Days Farm, a 120-cow dairy farm in Lowville in Lewis County. Dignitaries such as Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball, Lewis County Manager Tim Hunt and Lowville Mayor Dan Salmon were on hand for the announcement. Our aspiration is for our farm and farms like ours to remain viable for future generations. The Dairy Modernization Grant Program gives farms like ours the opportunity to progress and innovate, and continue being the lifeblood of our communities. This program encourages the adoption of efficient technology that improves food safety with more consideration to environmental impacts, securing the future of dairy in New York. The Beyer Family, owners of Glory Days Farm in Lowville Here's a breakdown of funding by region: Capital Region: nine farms were awarded a total of nearly $1.8 million. Central New York: 18 farms were awarded a total of more than $3.9 million. Finger Lakes: 20 farms were awarded a total of more than $4.3 million. Mid-Hudson: One farm was awarded more than $147,000. Mohawk Valley: 11 farms were awarded a total of more than $2.1 million. North Country: 15 farms were awarded a total of more than $3.3 million. Southern Tier: 13 farms were awarded a total of nearly $2.6 million. Western New York: 13 farms were awarded a total of more than $2.7 million. Here is the list of farms in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties that will be part of the first round of grants: CTS Dairy (Jefferson) Locust Hill Dairy LLC (Jefferson) North Harbor Dairy, LLC (Jefferson) Sheland Farms, LLC (Jefferson) Celtic Acres, LLC (Lewis) Glory Days Farm (Lewis) Irish Settlement Farm (Lewis) Moserdale Dairy (Lewis) Murrock Farms LLC (Lewis) Silvery Falls Farms LLC (Lewis) J & J FARMS (St. Lawrence) River Breeze Dairy LLC (St. Lawrence) Royal J. Acres LLC. (St. Lawrence) Stauffer Farms LLC (St. Lawrence) The grant program awarded eligible applicants for projects to expand on-farm milk storage capacity, improve the transportation and storage of milk, and strengthen the dairy industry. The program supports the needs of dairy farmers by facilitating the installation of critical technological and infrastructural improvements that will improve dairy supply chain efficiency and avoid the need for raw milk dumping during emergency events. NYS has roughly 3,000 dairy farms that produce over 16 billion pounds of milk annually, making New York the nation's fifth-largest dairy state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
