Progress 08/15/18 to 04/14/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Innovations in equipment manufacturing have been focused on large scale HTST processing and micro-dairy, vat pasteurizers of very small batches. There is currently no turnkey and cost-effective HTST processing line solution to allow small and mid-size farms and small businesses to develop significant new sales channels in the most challenging sector of agriculture. Atlantic has identified compelling business opportunities for small and mid-size dairy farms through operational expansion into regional milk processing and distribution. This opportunity is grounded in a growing body of scientific research demonstrating strong and increasing consumer support for healthy food that benefits local economies. The overarching goal of this proposal was to develop a highly efficient and affordable, small-scale HTST milk processing line that would reach the priamry target audience--small dairy farms and small businesses, operating singly or collaboratively, to help them expand into milk processing. Changes/Problems:There were no changes made to the technical research. The only changes made to the project were adjustments to the personnel/consultants effort working on the project. Those changes included the following: 1) Senior Key Person - Ray Bernier - increase of $5,200 - for more hours needed towards the Phase I effort 2) Other Person - Shae Horrigan - increase of $2,442 - for more hours needed towards the Phase I effort 3) Other Person - June L'Herueux - replaced on the project - left the organization 4) Other Person - Matthew George - decrease of $7,645 - less hours needed towards the Phase I effort after replaceing JL 5) Consultant - John Murphy - increase of $2,000 - for more hours needed towards the Phase I effort 6) Consultant - Ken Davis - decrease of $6,000 -less hours needed towards the Phase I effort 7) Consultant - Steven Judge - decrease of $6,000 -less hours needed towards the Phase I effort 8) Other Consultants - increase of $10,000 -- more hours needed towards the Phase I effort (primarily task 4) What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Based on research conducted in Phase I, Atlantic plans to develop an interactive technical and business planning tool for small and mid-size dairy farms and milk processors commercialized under the name "DairyMAPS" for "dairy market assessment and planning system." This tool, serving as an opportuntiy for training and professional development for small farms in the critical early stages of planning, will assist in expansion efforts of new milk processing and value-added production initiatives. DairyMAPS will require farms and other small businesses to answer questions about their location, processing preferences (e.g. HTST or Vat), volume of milk to process, desired product profile and bottling configuration. From there, Atlantic's proprietary algorithms will output proportional scale processing line CAD drawings and process flow diagrams, and identify the optimal component equipment, sequencing, utility needs, building size, and estimated costs to build, equip, assemble, and operate a process line. Users will also receive regulatory and technical guides that were started in Phase I and will be completed during Phase II. Users will be able to access DairyMaps free of charge, as we plan to cover costs of maintenance and improvement through increased consulting revenue. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Atlantic has completed an extensive final report (25 pages) in PDF format. The final report will be shared with all communites of interest identifed by our collaborating partners (extension offices, small-dariy farm databases, etc.) once the report is accepted and approved by the USDA NIFA office. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Atlantic was unable to identify dairy farm equipment manufacturers that produced homogenization or separation solutions for small-scale HTST operations. However, several manufacturers indicated a high level of interest in producing components for small-scale operations if Atlantic can demonstrate a market. Additionally, small-scale lines such as the benchmark using the Lili-B pasteurizer are in operation and additional lines can be built by retrofitting used equipment, demonstrating that HTST solutions for small farms are feasible in the present and could be even more accessible in the future. Upon the successful completion of a rigorous cost-benefit assessment of the benchmark, Atlantic determined that a small-scale HTST processing line can be profitable provided that consumers are willing to pay premium pricing for processed milk. Additional technical comparisons of alternative lines showed that diverse configurations of varied processing types (HTST or Vat), production volumes, and production schedules can result in high profitability ranging from $717,100 to $2.1 million per year and relatively low payback periods ranging from 47 to 119 days. Entry into the market remains difficult given the current inaccessibility of effective processing equipment. By partnering with used-equipment companies and retrofitting experts, Atlantic believes it can point farmers and processors towards the right equipment for their needs. If small farms have access to processing, they could take back control of the value chain and sell their milk at premium prices that allow for large profit margins under a variety of production schedules. Phase II will expand on this research to provide farmers preliminary information needed to plan for cost-effective HTST or Vat processing plants. SEE THE FINAL PDF REPORT (25 PAGES) FOR DETAILED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Publications