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The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is opening its Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Relief Initiative (DAIRI) program to provide financial assistance to eligible Minnesota dairy producers enrolled in the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program offered though the USDA’s Farm Service Agency.
DAIRI is a state-funded program that provides additional financial support to dairy producers that commit to six years of coverage in the DMC program. To be eligible, applicants must be the principal operator of a Minnesota dairy cow operation that produced less than 160,000 hundredweight of milk in 2022 and must have enrolled in six years of DMC coverage during the enrollment period of Jan. 12 – Feb. 26, 2026.
“This round of DAIRI builds on the strong response we saw when Minnesota first offered this program in 2019, which lead to Minnesota dairy farmers becoming national leaders in enrolling in the federal Dairy Margin Coverage program,” said Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen. “We’re grateful to the Minnesota Legislature for investing in DAIRI, which will help make it easier for farmers to afford DMC premiums and continue the essential work they do to keep their farms and our rural communities strong.”
Applications for the DAIRI program are being accepted now through 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 19. The MDA expects to distribute up to $3 million through this program. Payment amounts will be determined after all eligible applications are reviewed. For more information and to submit an application, please visit the MDA’s DAIRI program website.
MDA media release
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