SAINT PAUL, MN — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is opening applications for its Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Relief Initiative (DAIRI), a state-funded program that provides financial support to eligible Minnesota dairy producers enrolled in the federal Dairy Margin Coverage program.
DAIRI offers additional assistance to dairy farmers who commit to six years of coverage through the USDA Farm Service Agency’s Dairy Margin Coverage program. Eligible applicants must be the principal operator of a Minnesota dairy operation that produced less than 160,000 hundredweight of milk in 2022 and must have enrolled in six years of coverage during the Jan. 12 to Feb. 26, 2026, enrollment period.
“This round of DAIRI builds on the strong response we saw when Minnesota first offered this program in 2019,” said Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen, noting the program helped boost Minnesota’s participation in the federal coverage program.
Applications are being accepted through 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 19. The department expects to distribute up to $3 million, with payment amounts determined after all eligible applications are reviewed. More information and applications are available on the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s DAIRI program website.
