USA – Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a US dairy cooperative, has celebrated the opening of DFA Garden City, a new dairy ingredients plant in Southwest Kansas, to cater for increased demand.
DFA Garden City, a partnership between DFA and 12 of its member farms in Southwest Kansas, will help support the industry’s continued growth in the region, as well as meet rising demand for U.S. dairy both domestically and globally.
“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,” says Rick Smith, president and chief executive officer at DFA.
“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.”
The new facility allows the company to trace milk from the time it leaves the farm to the time it arrives at the store, meeting an important consumer need today, according to the company.
It also focuses on sustainability, including operating as a water-neutral facility, where all the water utilized at the plant will be recycled and ultimately used at landscaping and parks in Kansas.
Construction of the facility started in October 2015, with the first load of milk being delivered in late September 2017.
The plant produces whole and skim milk powder, nonfat dry milk powder and cream, and receives approximately 4 million pounds of milk a day from regional farms.
“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,” says Kansas dairy farmer Dan Senestraro, who also serves on the Board of Directors for DFA.
Dairy Farmers of America is the USA’s No.7 largest dairy company, with plants in most major producing states in the country.
