Dairy Processing Investment Fund

Amount: Up to $10 million in total per year per applicant.

The Dairy Processing Investment Fund was established to provide funding to dairy processors for investments that will improve productivity and competitiveness, and help them prepare to market changes resulting from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Eligibility Criteria

  • for-profit organizations, including co-operatives, which are:
    • small and medium cheese makers;
    • large cheese makers and all other organizations involved in processing dairy products in Canada whose projects have benefits that accrue broadly, namely:
      • the application of technologies to make use of surplus skim milk (for example, a project to purchase and install new milk drying equipment); or
      • increasing the facility’s capacity to use milk or milk components by 1.6% (rate established based on the expected impact from CETA) above the market forecast growth, through expansion or new product development; and
  • Not-for-profit organizations involved in or representing the dairy processing sector in Canada.

Eligible Costs

The program will provide non-repayable contributions to support projects through:

  • Capital Investment in equipment and infrastructure; and/or
    • Improving manufacturing technologies and processes, or the introduction of new or improved products (including the acquisition and installation of equipment);
    • Construction, expansion and/or modernization of dairy processing establishments in Canada; and,
    • Engagement of external expertise/consultants related to the implementation, certification or validation of plant improvements.
  • Access to Expertise to engage private sector technical, managerial, and business expertise

Amount

The maximum funding available per Capital Investment project is $10 million and $250,000 per Access to Expertise project.

The maximum amount an applicant can receive is $10 million in total per year.

Deadline

Please note that the timing of application submission must allow for projects to be completed by the Fund’s end date of March 31, 2021.