Second Round of Dairy Grants Totals $125,000

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    New Delhi, December 03, 2021:  The Center for Dairy Excellence recently awarded $125,000 to 25 Pennsylvania dairy producers through the second round of the Dairy Excellence Grant program.

    Leveraging funds provided through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Center has awarded a combined total of $525,000 to more than 100 Pennsylvania dairy producers between both rounds of the program.

    The grants are designed to support dairy farm improvement projects that enhance efficiency and cow comfort.

    Grant recipients are planning to use the funds to install new waterbeds and mattresses, implement activity monitoring heat detection systems, and add fans in maternity barns. Several producers also plan to improve efficiency by installing feed tracking software, investing in TMR mixers, building new posts and gating, and re-grooving free stalls and alleys.

    During the second round of funding, a total of 7,397 Pennsylvania dairy cows will be impacted by the improvement projects. Grant recipients’ herd sizes range from 50 to 1,300 cows.

    Dairy producers who received the grants represent a 17 counties — Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Butler, Chester, Cumberland, Fayette, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Mifflin, Perry, Schuylkill, Somerset, Union and Wayne.

    Grant recipients were selected by a committee of industry professionals and will receive a 50% match, up to a maximum matching level of $5,000 according to the reports published in lancasterfarming.com.

    The Center hopes to offer another round of grants in March.