{"id":140538,"date":"2026-02-20T23:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T23:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/140538\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T23:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T23:01:14","slug":"dairy-industry-push-for-more-funding-for-dairy-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/140538\/","title":{"rendered":"Dairy industry push for more funding for dairy research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cornell University\u2019s PRO-Dairy\u00a0program\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0seen a change to\u00a0its\u00a0state funding since 2014. Now the state is proposing a $125,000 reduction despite the demand for increased milk production for processing facilities.<\/p>\n

The PRO-Dairy\u00a0program is a\u00a0state-funded\u00a0program\u00a0through\u00a0Cornell University that aims to increase\u00a0the competitiveness\u00a0and sustainability of\u00a0New York\u00a0dairy farms, conducting\u00a0research into herd health, business practices, nutrient\u00a0management\u00a0and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PRO-Dairy\u00a0Director Tom Overton\u00a0said the\u00a0program\u2019s request\u00a0to the state is to not only\u00a0maintain\u00a0funding from last year but\u00a0increase\u00a0funding\u00a0to cover\u00a0rising\u00a0expenses.\u00a0The governor\u2019s\u00a0budget, however,\u00a0now proposes cutting $125,000 from what\u00a0was\u00a0received last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The current milk parlor at Beck Farms which is in the process of being replaced by a rotary milk parlor. (Emily Kenny\/Spectrum News 1)<\/p>\n

\u201cOur program costs obviously increase every year,\u00a0so we\u2019ve identified\u00a0expanded needs\u00a0for farm business management, expanded needs for dairy welfare,\u00a0because processors are increasingly interested in\u00a0ensuring that our farms are taking care of our animals the best they can and the highest standards by which milk is produced,\u201d Overton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Northeast Dairy Producers Association, a lobby group for dairy farmers\u00a0advocating for these budget increases,\u00a0testified during a public legislative hearing that the demand on the program has grown in the last\u00a010\u00a0years,\u00a0so the funding should\u00a0as well.\u00a0The final budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 included $1.4 million for PRO-Dairy, but NEDPA is asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to reverse the planned\u00a0cut and add\u00a0$1 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring that same period, the demands on the program have grown significantly as farms face increased economic pressure, evolving environmental expectations, workforce\u00a0challenges\u00a0and rapid changes in technology,\u201d said Allyson Jones-Brimmer,\u00a0NEDPA\u2019s\u00a0executive director,\u00a0during a legislative hearing in January.<\/p>\n

The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets declined to comment on the topic, but the Commissioner of Agriculture Richard Ball highlighted other dairy focused funding from Hochul in testimony during the same legislative hearing.\u00a0Ball highlighted\u00a0another\u00a0round of funding under the Dairy Modernization program and the $30 million in tariff relief.<\/p>\n

Last year, Chobani announced the construction of a new plant in Rome, along with Cayuga Milk Ingredients\u00a0in Auburn\u00a0and\u00a0Fairlife\u00a0in Webster, which means the need for milk production will expand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Overton\u00a0said\u00a0the investments by large processors such as Chobani\u00a0show\u00a0their confidence in New York\u2019s dairy industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey chose to locate here in New York, and I think they did that in part because of confidence in the dairy industry, and confidence in universities like Cornell and programs like PRO-Dairy,\u201d Overton said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got really good ability to support their needs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tyler Beck, a co-owner of Beck Farms\u00a0in\u00a0Tompkins County, said\u00a0continued funding of research is critical\u00a0to\u00a0keep up with the new demand for dairy processing\u00a0facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you put in alignment with what\u2019s coming down the pipeline and how much [agriculture] is expanding in the state, they need to truly expand, not only stay where they are but expand with the rest of the state, the needs and the capacity because that\u2019s the\u00a0direction everything is moving,\u201d Beck said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A calf barn that was recently built at Beck Farms with the guidance of PRO-Dairy specialists. (Emily Kenny\/Spectrum News 1)<\/p>\n

Beck Farms\u00a0has\u00a0utilized\u00a0the PRO-DAIRY program in a couple of\u00a0different\u00a0ways,\u00a0including\u00a0peer groups where farmers can\u00a0discuss\u00a0issues facing the industry.\u00a0Farm owners\u00a0also consult\u00a0specialists from the program about how to construct new facilities such as a calf barn and a rotary milk parlor.\u00a0They were able to contact\u00a0PRO-DAIRY officials\u00a0about sizing specifications for the barn to\u00a0determine\u00a0how big the stalls need to be\u00a0for\u00a0the calves to have enough room\u00a0as they grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey sized exactly what we should be building in our blueprints for square footage, per calf,\u00a0per age\u00a0and as they grow, how you should design that,\u00a0because this is a million-dollar barn that you\u2019re building and you\u2019ve got to get it right the first time,\u201d Beck said.<\/p>\n

Any reduction\u00a0in\u00a0funding for the program would be harmful to the industry, he\u00a0added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re making any cuts, you\u2019re going the wrong way,\u00a0and if you\u2019re not\u00a0growing\u00a0with the state of dairy, then you\u2019re also going the wrong\u00a0way,\u00a0so it needs to be twofold,\u201d Beck said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cornell University\u2019s PRO-Dairy\u00a0program\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0seen a change to\u00a0its\u00a0state funding since 2014. Now the state is proposing a $125,000 reduction despite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[109,3478,288,257,8255,9,11,10,49,51,50,12,87],"class_list":{"0":"post-140538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-app-local-state-politics","9":"tag-app-local-business","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-central-ny","12":"tag-emily-kenny","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-headlines","15":"tag-new-york-news","16":"tag-new-york-state","17":"tag-new-york-state-headlines","18":"tag-new-york-state-news","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}