Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives Program (DBI) Fiscal Year 2026
Agency: Agricultural Marketing Service
Assistance Listings: 10.176 -- Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives
Last Updated: September 30, 2026
View version history on Grants.gov
Description
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for fiscal year (FY) 2026 from existing initiatives of the Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives Program: the California State University Fresno Foundation, the University of Tennessee, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, and the University of Wisconsin.
These initiatives serve to:
• Diversify dairy product markets to reduce risk and develop higher value uses for dairy products; • Promote business development that diversifies farmer income through processing and marketing innovation; and • Encourage the use of regional milk production.
Approximately $12.65 million is available to fund these initiatives. In the FY 2025 application cycle, AMS funded four applications from the existing initiatives awarding a total of $11,040,000.
AMS strongly encourages DBI initiatives to prioritize subaward funding for projects that request equipment and infrastructure activities in their proposals for these FY2026 funds. See the DBI Specific Terms and Conditions for guidance on allowable equipment and construction costs. Equipment and infrastructure investments are critical to strengthening the dairy industry and overall dairy businesses capacity and DBI is currently uniquely positioned to offer such targeted funding opportunities.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants
Miscellaneous
- Other
Additional information
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 only from the existing four initiatives of the Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives program: the California State University Fresno Foundation, the University of Tennessee, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, and the University of Wisconsin.
Grantor contact information
Description
DBI Grant Program Questions: IPPGrants@usda.gov; Grants.gov Questions: support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726. IPPGrants@usda.gov
Email: IPPGrants@usda.gov
IPPGrants@usda.gov
Documents
| File name | Description | Last updated |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026_DBI_Notice_of_Funding_Opportunity.pdf | FY2026 DBI Notice of Funding Opportunity.pdf | Sep 30, 2026 06:16 PM UTC |
| DBI_Specific_Terms_and_Conditions_Updated.pdf | DBI Specific Terms and Conditions Updated.pdf | Sep 30, 2026 06:16 PM UTC |
| FY26DBIProjectNarrative.docx | FY26DBIProjectNarrative.docx | Sep 30, 2026 06:17 PM UTC |
Link to additional information
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/dbi
Closing: December 1, 2026
Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Application process
This site is a work in progress. Go to www.grants.gov to apply, track application status, and subscribe to updates.
View on Grants.gov
Award
$12,650,000 Program Funding
4 Expected awards
$2,300,000 Award Minimum
$3,450,000 Award Maximum
Funding opportunity number:
USDA-AMS-TM-DBI-G-26-0011
Cost sharing or matching requirement:
Yes
Funding instrument type:
Grant
Opportunity Category:
Mandatory
Opportunity Category Explanation:
--
Category of Funding Activity:
Agriculture
Category Explanation:
--
History
Version:
1
Posted date:
September 30, 2026
Archive date:
December 31, 2026