In 2019, our team at Miyoko’s started researching trends in our food system by talking with farmers and engaging extension advisors, crop specialists, and university researchers. There is one thing we keep coming back to: dairy farmers and their families are having a tough time. Competing against large industrial dairies, farmers manage fluctuating market prices, high production costs, tight processing contracts, climate variability, labor shortages, and so much more. As a result, many farmers are feeling uncertain and discouraged about the future of their farm.
There’s no single perfect solution to this trend, but we realized there is something we can do about it as a fast-growing plant-based food company. We created the Dairy Farm Transition (DFT) program to offer new opportunities to dairy farmers who want to explore alternatives to their current operations. The DFT program provides resources and support to farmers as they shift to plant-based production, growing specialty crops that we will purchase to contribute to our supply chain and research and development efforts. With the partnership, we offer a guaranteed income for the farmer while they transition, grant funding for the transition process, educational resources, technical assistance, and a secured market. Our goal is to decrease the barriers to farm-level innovation by paving an independent path forward for the farm in the emerging plant-based industry.
To learn more, please visit our website:
To apply for the program, click the button below and fill out the "Contact Us" form.
Looking for more resources on farm transitions? Visit the Farmer Toolkit, a collaborative project between DFT, Transfarmation, and Animal Outlook.