Several local dairy farms will receive state grants to modernize.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday, June 2 that 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.
The funding, first announced in the governor’s 2024 State of the State address, will help New York’s dairy farmers and dairy cooperatives invest in new equipment, expand storage capacity, and strengthen their operations, particularly as they face extreme weather events, providing a critical boost to New York’s dairy industry, according to a news release.
The announcement comes as the state officially kicks off the celebration of Dairy Month this June.
“New York’s dairy industry is the backbone of our agricultural economy, supporting thousands of jobs across our rural communities,” Hochul said in the release. “With this $21.6 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.”
The awards were announced at a special event at Glory Days Farm, a 120-cow dairy farm in Lowville, Lewis County. State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball was joined by partners from the Farm and Food Growth Fund, who administer this grant program on behalf of the department, in addition to other North Country dairy farm awardees, Lowville Producers Dairy Cooperative Inc., New York Farm Bureau, Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Lewis County Soil and Water Conservation District and elected officials to celebrate these awardees.
Eleven farms in the Mohawk Valley counties of Fulton, Herkimer, Oneida, Otsego and Schoharie were awarded a total of more than $2.1 million. These farms included, Lea Murcray DBA The Grazing Edge Dairy in Otsego County, and Argus Acres, LLC, CDS Tillapaugh LLC, Debra / Eric Stanton and Schultz Bros Farm Inc. in Schoharie County. Thirteen farms in the Southern Tier counties of Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins counties were awarded a total of nearly $2.6 million. These farms included Grouse Feather Farm LLC, Larchar AG, and Woodview Farms LLC in Chenango County, and Byebrook Farm, Ernest and Barbara Hanselman, Del-Rose Farm and Herondale Holsteins LLC in Delaware County.
According to the news release, the grant program is awarded to 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.
Funding for the Dairy Modernization Grant Program is a part of Hochul’s 2024 State of the State and her overarching commitment to the dairy industry, including additional funds dedicated in the FY26 Enacted Budget to support a $10 million second round of the program, and further funding dedicated to research and to implement climate-resilient practices on dairy farms, the release stated.
Since taking office, Hochul has made significant strides in expanding the dairy manufacturing sector in New York, the release stated. In the last few years, New York has celebrated investments across the state, including a $650 million Fairlife production plant in Webster, the $518 million Great Lakes Cheese packaging and manufacturing facilities in Franklinville, and a $30 million expansion to the Agri-Mark cheese manufacturing facility in Chateaugay, helping New York continue to be the leading producer of milk in the Northeast. Most recently, the Governor announced Chobani, which opened its first U.S. plant in 2005 in New York, will build a 1.4 million square foot, $1.2 billion facility in Rome, Oneida County, capable of producing over one-billion pounds of high-quality dairy products per year. There are currently nearly 300 world-recognized dairy processing plants across New York.
“I thank Gov. Hochul for her continued support of New York agriculture and our state’s dairy industry, which is so critical to our agricultural economy,” State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said in the release. “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. 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.”
New York has roughly 3,000 dairy farms that produce more than 16 billion pounds of milk annually, making New York the nation’s fifth-largest dairy state, the release stated. The dairy industry is the state’s largest agricultural sector, contributing significantly to the state’s economy by generating nearly half of the state’s total agricultural receipts and providing some of the highest economic multipliers.