Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) has opened its new dairy ingredients plant located in Garden City, Kansas, as it aims to meet demand for its products in the US and globally.
The facility represents a partnership between DFA and 12 of its member farms in southwest Kansas to support the industry’s growth in the region.
Construction started in October 2015 and the first load of milk was delivered in September 2017. The plant, which has brought 66 new jobs to the area, produces whole and skimmed milk powder, non-fat dry milk powder, and cream. It receives approximately 4 million pounds of milk a day from regional farms.
DFA said the all water used at the plant is recycled and ultimately used to water landscaping and parks throughout the city.
During the open house ceremony and ribbon cutting, representatives from DFA were joined by governor of Kansas Sam Brownback and Garden City mayor Melvin Dale.
DFA CEO Rick Smith and chairman Randy Mooney thanked those individuals who have been instrumental in the plant’s development, including the 12 DFA farm family owners and members who invested in the facility.
“As a cooperative owned by family farmers, we are always looking for opportunities to help grow the dairy industry and provide value to our dairy farmer owners,” said Smith.
“This investment not only fills an important need for the region by providing a local home for DFA members’ milk, which was previously being transported to other areas of the country, but it also supports and enhances our global ingredients strategy, which benefits all our farmer members.”
Kansas dairy farmer Dan Senestraro, who also serves on the board of directors for DFA, said: “As a farmer invested in this plant, it’s exciting because we’re connecting our family farms to family tables in a truly sustainable and traceable way.
“This plant allows us to trace the product from the time it leaves the farm as raw milk to the time it arrives at the store, which is important to many consumers today.”
Last week DFA announced its expansion into shelf life processing with the acquisition of New Jersey company Cumberland Dairy.
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