About Minnesota Dairy Initiative
Established to energize a healthy and vibrant dairy industry in Minnesota, the Minnesota Dairy Initiative (MDI) is a producer-led initiative to coordinate a comprehensive approach to the delivery of on-farm services to Minnesota's dairy producers.
MDI sponsors many regional and state-wide events each year for MDI program participants. In addition, MDI notifies dairy producers of other beneficial events.
Visit the Events page to learn about the many great regional, state-wide, and national events that you can attend!
Program Details
The MDI Regional Teams locally manage and coordinate the delivery of on-farm advisory services using the skills and experience of:
- Farm Business Management specialists
- Soil and Water Conservation District personnel
- Industry Professionals
- Extension Educators
- Dairy producers and others
Minnesota dairy producers join MDI and discover ways to:
- Reduce costs
- Reduce labor
- Improve animal health
- Improve net profit
- Enhance quality of family life, and
- Protect the environment
To learn more about what your region has to offer, visit the Regions page.
Program Cost
Dairy producers participating in the MDI program pay a $200 enrollment fee. For that enrollment fee, producers receive over $1000 worth of services including one semester of Farm Business Management tuition, dairy industry partners consulting feeds, and team coordination efforts. These benefits are made possible with funding from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Contact MDI today to apply for the program or receive more information. To join MDI, dairy producers must:
- Plan to continue in the dairy business
- Work with a team to develop short and long-term plans for your farm
- Be willing to make changes
- Provide production records for your farm (Records will be kept confidential)
- Network with other dairy producers to share ideas and information that work for you on your farm
- Participate in the program for at least one year
