2023 March Board Book

Attracting New Workforce

2023 Internships

CDIC interns finalized their 2022 projects and video reports. Edited versions will be featured on CDIC’s website to promote the program. Over 10 internships are being made available by CDIC in 2023, and

seven were assigned to Fresno State, UC Davis, CalPoly SLO and Chapman University as well as industry projects. Additional candidates are being interviewed and screened on an on-going basis.

Strengthening Academic Capacity CDIC visited and met with staff at Chico State University and CalPoly Humboldt to discuss their plans for curriculum development and the feasibility of a small dairy plant at Chico State. Staff worked with administrators and staff to obtain funding for the projects through the PCC-DBII project and provided guidance for implementation. CDIC finalized its 2023 application for $200,000 in funding by Dairy Management Inc., to include direct funding of the pilot plant at CalPoly for applications and short-courses. This additional funding will also help CDIC build training and tech support capacity across the state at the other campuses which are committed to support undergraduate dairy processing education programs, graduate research and offer training workshops for our existing workforce. Application for a $1.7 million Phase III grant, completed in September, was approved by USDA in January 2023. CDIC is a primary partner of the Dairy Business Innovation Initiative, the $1.8 million grant awarded late 2021. In June 2022, USDA awarded the Pacific Coast Coalition ~$19 million grant (2022-2026). The DBII Phase II funds will allow significant upgrades to our tech support and academic research capacity, and geographic expansion. The program includes $9.5 million in grants to industry and dairy producers for product innovation-focused projects.