The Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative (SDBII), with support from USDA AMS, offers grants to dairy businesses in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico. The program provides grant awards to revitalize and spur innovation in the dairy industry across the Southeast. The Farm Infrastructure Improvement Grant application period closed on March 1, 2024, at 5:00pm ET. The previous round’s Request for Proposal (RFP), Budget Form, Application Scoring Rubric, and Allowable Cost List from the USDA are all available below. A recorded information session on both 2024 SDBII Farm Grants can be viewed at the bottom of this page along with the session presentation file.
Grant Workbook Components
The Farm Infrastructure Improvement Grant Request for Proposals, and Budget Form are available below. Read the Request for Proposal IN FULL before starting your application.
Those considering applying for an SDBII grant should start the process of obtaining a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) as soon as possible. Award recipients will be required to provide a UEI before the grant contract can be executed. Wait times are currently several weeks long. Register at SAM.GOV
Program Contacts
Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, & Puerto Rico
Shep Stearns & Liz Eckelkamp: sdbiigrants@utk.edu
Kentucky, Arkansas, Virginia, & West Virginia
Jennifer Hickerson: j.hickersonkddc@gmail.com
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, & Mississippi
Brittany Whitmire & Stephanie Ward: ncdairyextension@ncsu.edu
Additional Resources:
Application Portal
You can use the document above to draft your grant narrative. Once the narrative is complete you may transfer the answers to the grant portal by copying and pasting into the appropriate space in the form.