Dairy Foundation Awards $32,500 in 2015 Education Grants

Source: Professional Dairy Producers Foundation

The Professional Dairy Producers Foundation (PDPF) has awarded $32,500 for education project grants for dairy producers and their communities. The following projects will receive funding:  

• Educational Television Productions of Northeast Wisconsin, in collaboration with Brown County UW Extension, dairy farmers and Wisconsin Public Television. The grant will help fund two dairy worker training videos in English and in Spanish, with the goal of creating a more proactive and prepared dairy community with respect to dairy animal well-being.   
• The Clean Lakes Alliance for the Yahara Pride Farms Certification Program. This voluntary, farmer led initiative encourages the use of effective nutrient management and conservation practices that reduce phosphorus loading to our waterways, improving soil and water quality for both urban and rural communities in the Yahara watershed. It is a non-regulatory certification program which helps farmers identify strengths and weaknesses of their farming systems and nutrient management.
• The Fond du Lac Agriculture Society to enhance their Ag Birthing and Education Center that reaches more than 35,000 people at the Fond du Lac County Fair. Exhibits at the Center tell the dairy story surrounding the miracle of birth.
• The University of Wisconsin Foundation for the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine to support the Dairyland Imitative. Funds will help enhance the web based resource providing educational materials, networking, virtual tours, contacts and tools to ensure that dairy producers have the necessary information to construct welfare friendly facilities for their livestock.
• North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge Inc. for the Dairy Challenge Academy. The Academy is an educational program held annually, in conjunction with National Dairy Challenge contest. In 2015, 200 students will learn firsthand how to evaluate dairy profitability and approach management challenges on a dairy farm. 
• The Food Armor HACCP for Proper Drug Use program, facilitated by the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association in partnership with Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW).  [O1] Food Armor is a six-step on farm program with the goal of food safety and responsible use of animal medications. This continuous improvement program solidifies the veterinarian/producer commitment to providing safe meat and milk products to consumers.
• The New York Animal Agriculture Coalition’s Digital Videos for Dairy. Funding supports four videos that will provide consumers with an informative message about dairy farms. The videos will spotlight personal stories and specific incidents with the goal of resolving the empathy divide between consumers and the dairy community.
• The Nebraska 4-H Foundation for the dairy exhibit component of the Nebraska Agricultural Experience, a year round facility for telling the Nebraska agriculture story. The exhibit is designed to let consumers see agriculture from every angle - water conservation to soil health, animal well-being to food safety, invention to innovation, economic impact to feeding the world.
• Maryland Dairy Shrine for educational program support of Maryland Dairy Convention, “Positioning Your Dairy for the Future.” The dairy convention seeks to offer new, innovative and cutting edge programing to dairy producers throughout Maryland.

These programs clearly align with the Foundation's mission,” says Logan Bower, dairy producer and chair of the Foundation Board. “They provide educational resources that build producer professionalism and maintain public trust in what we do.”

The Professional Dairy Producers Foundation awards grants to non-profit organizations who share the Foundation’s passion and vision for education in dairy communities. Grant dollars are available to those organizations with unique ideas in the following two focus areas: 1) Building producer professionalism, or 2) Maintaining public trust.

The next granting period begins now, with grant applications due June 1, 2015. Organizations may apply for grants of up to $5,000. The maximum amount given to any one organization will be $5,000. For grant criteria and an application package, visit www.dairyfoundation.org.

The Professional Dairy Producers Foundation is a producer-led 501(c)(3) charitable organization that raises funds for educational programs throughout the United States. The Foundation supports programs that develop the skills of our dairy producers and youth and maintain public trust. For more information on programs funded and ways to donate, visit www.dairyfoundation.org.