Program Guidelines

Farm Eligibility

  • Farm must be located in New York State.
  • Farm must go through the application process and be approved.
  • Farm must be a dairy cattle farm shipping milk.
  • Farm must have complete financial records to qualify for business planning or operational planning funds.
  • Must have a current Comprehensive Nutritient Management Plan (CNMP) if applying for funds to design Best Management Practices (BMPs).

Project Eligibility

Planning for long-term viability - preference for small to mid-size farms

  • Recordkeeping systems - implementation and support of a new, or significant update to an existing, recordkeeping system.
  • Operational planning - first year of budgeting and planning with an operational focus to assist with analyzing costs and opportunities for improvement of current operations.
  • Business planning - develop a business plan which may include, but is not limited to business planning, transition analysis, facility planning and farmstead layout planning.
  • Advisory teams - facilitated by extension or agribusiness personnel, focus on a specific area of improvement for an individual dairy farm meeting periodically throughout the year to identify solutions and recommend a plan for implementation.
  • Human resource management - to support the development of HR management practices including performance, leadership, and farm policies. Examples of eligible options include development of SOPs, job descriptions, and employee handbooks, etc. 

Environmental Planning

  • CNMP (Certified Nutrient Management Plan) updates by an AEM Certified Planner for farms with less than 300 mature cows.
  • New CNMPs by an AEM Certified Planner for farms with less than 300 mature cows.
  • Installation of a new non-contact cooling water reclamation system for farms of any size.
  • The design of a system of BMPs identified in the farm CNMP for farms with less than 700 mature cows.
  • Eligible BMPs:
    • 561 Heavy Use Area (e.g. concrete barnyard)
    • 367 Roofs and Covers (e.g. cover over a barnyard)
    • 317 Composting Facility
    • 316 Animal Mortality Facility
    • 635 Vegetative Treatment Area
    • 360 Waste Facility Closure
    • 632 Waste Separation Facility
    • 313 Waste Storage Facility
    • 634 Waste Transfer
    • 629 Waste Treatment
    • In addition funds may be used to:
      • Hire an engineer to certify an existing structure.
      • Complete a soils investigation that is associated with the design of an eligible BMP.
      • Complete a farmstead topographic survey that is associated with the design of an eligible BMP.

Program Funding

The Dairy Advancement Program funds 80 percent of the cost of the project (up to established limits) and the participating farmer pays the remaining 20 percent of the project cost directly to the provider of the service. If total project cost exceeds the amount of awarded funds, farmer is additionally responsible for covering the balance of the project cost. Awarded funds are disbursed through Cornell University upon receipt of invoice and completed project delivery form. The program ends when funds are depleted or no longer available. Projects are expected to move forward in a consistent manner or farms risk forfeiting the award.

Business Planning Projects

  • Recordkeeping systems - up to $2,500 for implementation and support of a new, or significant update to an existing, record-keeping system.
  • Operational planning - up to $2,500 for a farm’s first year of budgeting and planning with an operational focus to assist with analyzing costs and opportunities for improvement of current operations.
  • Advisory Team - up to $3,000 for a team of advisors to assist the farm with improvement of specific aspects of dairy business performance.
  • New business planning – up to $5,000 for a farm to develop a business plan which may include, but is not limited to business planning and analysis of operation, transition analysis, facility planning and farmstead layout planning.
  • Continued business planning – up to $2,500 for continuation of business planning for a farm previously awarded business planning funds
  • Human resource management - up to $2,500 to support the development of HR management practices including performance, leadership, and farm policies. Examples of eligible options include development of SOPs, job descriptions, and employee handbooks, etc.

Environmental Planning Projects

  • Up to $6,000 for a new CNMP (or existing CNMP more than three years old) plus the first year of service.
  • Up to $4,500 for a CNMP update plus the first year of service.
  • Up to $5,000 for the design of a single BMP recommended in the farm CNMP or up to $10,000 for the design of a combination of BMPs. Funds may be used toward the cost of the design, but not the actual construction costs of the designed practice.
  • Up to $3,000 for construction oversight and as built certification of a BMP, $6,000 for a combination of BMPs.
  • Up to $2,500 to evaluate an existing structure (e.g. waste storage).
  • Up to $1,000 for a soils investigation and/or topographic survey associated with the design of an eligible BMP.

The program is coordinated through Cornell PRO-DAIRY in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension.