Until big dairies arrived in Indiana, the state was losing ground as a dairy haven. The herds of 40 to 100 cows of the 50's, 60's and early 70's disappeared. But now mega-dairies have taken their place.

Several major manufacturers like the environment in Indiana for processing and producing brand-name dairy products. There are actually nine counties with major plants that use milk products to produce national brands. How many of the nine can you name?

Indiana's dairy industry: It starts with cows, but it is way more than just cows! There are nine counties with major production facilities and a host of counties that are home to more localized producers of milk, cheese or whole milk products.

Here's the rundown. Marion County is home to Crossroad Farms Dairy, which processes dairy products for Kroger, and also Con Agra Foods, which makes Reddi-wip at the Indianapolis location. Wayne Diary is active in Wayne County. It's also sometimes referred to as Smith Dairy.

Prairie Farms produces North Star Ice Cream, part of Ice Cream Specialties, in Tippecanoe County. Prairie Farms also has processing facilities in Madison, Dubois and Allen Counties. Nestle also processes dairy products in Madison County.

The gourmet brand of Nestle's ice cream, Edy's, is produced in Allen County. Dean Foods Dairy processes dairy products in Pulaski, Huntington and Adams Counties.

Some of these are not major dairy counties, but the companies locate there for various reasons. Good supplies of milk are within easy driving distance of each location.

In addition, the Indiana Board of Animal Health maintains a director of smaller firms that produce cheese, ice cream or fluid milk products across the state. You can access the list starting at www.in.gov/boah.

The directory lists type of product, location and contact information for several small processors. Some of the companies, such as Swiss Connection in Clay County, produce and sell both ice cream and cheese. These smaller businesses are ideal for people who are interested in buying local food products.