CDRF – Extending Dairy Dollars

The California Dairy Research Foundation’s (CDRF) mission is to promote research and development activities that benefit California’s dairy producers, processors, and consumers by increasing the value of milk and dairy products. In order to maximize the investment of California’s dairy industry and ensure that projects are relevant and applicable to industry needs, the CDRF actively solicits co-funding from a number of industry and government/academic sources. As a result, for every $1 invested, at least another $1 in funding is provided through co-funding sources. Additionally, by working with land-grant universities, indirect costs such as researcher salaries, lab facilities and other overhead expenses are included in each project – thus extending project co-funding to a ratio of $2 co-funded for every $1 funded by CDRF.

 In addition to industry partnerships, the CDRF co-funding sources include state and federal grants as well as programs such as the California State University Agriculture Research Initiative (CSU/ARI) and the UC Discovery Grant program.

CSU/ARI
The California State University Agriculture Research Initiative (CSU/ARI) provides new avenues of opportunity for the CSU to leverage existing faculty and staff talent while attracting matching funds for applied agricultural and natural resources research.

UC Discovery Grants
The Industry-University Cooperative Research Program (IUCRP) awards MICRO Grants and UC Discovery Grants in five fields of science and engineering, including information technology for life sciences such as agriculture and animal sciences and veterinary medicine. UC Discovery Grants form a 3-way partnership between the UC, industry sponsors, and the State of California for up to four years of funding.