California's Dairy Plus Program Allocates $34 Million for Manure Management
The California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF) has announced the availability of $34 million for dairy farmers in California under the Dairy Plus Program. This initiative aims to support advanced manure management projects and is a collaborative effort funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) Initiative. The program is administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)'s Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability (OARS) in partnership with CDRF.
Individual projects can receive up to $1.25 million in funding. The initiative is designed to help dairy farmers improve their management practices, meet environmental goals, and enhance farm resilience. Since its inception, the Dairy Plus Program has completed two rounds of grants, distributing a total of $43.6 million across 37 projects.
Denise Mullinax, the Executive Director of CDRF, stated, "The Dairy Plus Program supports dairy farmers' important efforts to continually innovate and improve the protection of natural resources." The program encourages the adoption of state-of-the-art practices to address issues such as nitrogen and salt surpluses and prepare for changing water quality regulations.
The application period for the third round opened on June 16 and will close on September 14. Eligible projects must incorporate advanced manure management techniques like vermifiltration systems, manure solid separation via weeping wall, and advanced solid-liquid separation using flocculants, bead filters, or centrifuge technology. Additionally, projects should be paired with other key manure management practices, which have been either privately or publicly funded.
The Dairy Plus Program also provides technical assistance, measures environmental benefits, and seeks to create new market opportunities for sustainably produced commodities. The CDRF, an independent non-profit organization, leads this initiative to support a sustainable and innovative dairy industry in California.
