Farm Progress

Partnership aims to develop cheese processing facility in Michigan

Glanbia, DFA, MMPA and Foremost Farms are in advanced discussions.

Jennifer Kiel, Editor, Michigan Farmer and Ohio Farmer

February 10, 2017

3 Min Read
NEW PROCESSING: The announcement of a new cheese processing facility likely locating in Michigan is welcome news for the state, which has increased milk production 80% from 2000 to 2015.Thinkstock

If everything proceeds as planned, a new cheese and whey processing facility will locate in Michigan and be on line by the second half of 2019. The details are yet to be finalized, as well as the location, but advanced discussions are taking place between the Irish-based Glanbia and three cooperatives serving Michigan — Dairy Farmers of America Inc., Michigan Milk Producers Association and Foremost Farms USA.

The announcement is welcome news for the state, which has increased milk production 80% from 2000 to 2015, and all indications are milk production will continue to grow in Michigan. The dairy herd was estimated at 425,000 head for December, up 13,000 head from a year earlier. Michigan represents more than 50% of the milk production growth in the U.S. this past year.

In 2015, Michigan ranked seventh nationally in terms of milk production and has struggled to keep up with processing capacity.

Construction on the plant is anticipated to begin in late 2017, and upon completion, it is projected to process 8 million pounds of milk per day. It is proposed that 50% of the joint venture will be owned by Glanbia and the 50% balance will be owned by DFA, MMPA and Foremost Farms. As part of the proposed joint venture, DFA, MMPA and Foremost Farms would supply all milk required by the plant, while Glanbia will have full responsibility for all commercial, technical and operational aspects of the business. 

MMPA General Manager Joe Diglio says, “In the dairy industry, we value the opportunities provided by working together — from farmers with fellow farmers to co-ops with fellow co-ops. By enhancing synergies between cooperatives, we can effectively serve our members with this joint venture. Michigan is home to a quality milk supply, with increased needs as production continues to grow. This cheese and whey facility will provide a strategic solution for the region moving forward.”

Milk production is expected to continue to grow in the state, and Ken Nobis, president of MMPA, says members have made good use of advantages afforded in this area. “We have productive soils to grow feed, a climate that is conducive to cow comfort, a plentiful water supply, and a ‘people infrastructure’ that is second to none. In addition, we are within an eight-hour drive of 50% of the U.S. population,” he says.

To accommodate the new volume, MMPA expanded processing capacity at both of its Ovid and Constantine plants. “This was a small part of the $100 million investment made by MMPA to increase processing capacity since 2009,” Nobis says.

MMPA also purchased its own cheese processing facility in Middlebury, Ind., in 2016.

“We are working every day, both within our own system and with others, to accommodate production increases,” Nobis says.

Brian Phelan, CEO of Glanbia Nutritionals says, “The proposed venture will build on our position as the number one producer of American-style cheddar cheese and simultaneously expand our global position as a supplier of advanced technology whey protein to the nutritional sector. This proposed joint venture is a strategic move by all the partners to benefit from the growing, large-scale milk pool in the state of Michigan.”

 

 

About the Author

Jennifer Kiel

Editor, Michigan Farmer and Ohio Farmer

Jennifer was hired as editor of Michigan Farmer in 2003, and in 2015, she began serving a dual role as editor of Michigan Farmer and Ohio Farmer. Both those publications are now online only, while the print version is American Agriculturist, which covers Michigan, Ohio, the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic. She is the co-editor with Chris Torres.

Prior to joining Farm Progress, she served three years as the manager of communications and development for the American Farmland Trust Central Great Lakes Regional Office in Michigan, and as director of communications with the Michigan Agri-Business Association. Previously, she was the communications manager at Michigan Farm Bureau's state headquarters. She also lists 10 years of experience at six different daily and weekly Michigan newspapers on her resume.

She has been a member of American Agricultural Editors’ Association (now Agricultural Communicators Network) since 2003. She has won numerous writing and photography awards through that organization, which named her a Master Writer in 2006 and Writer of Merit in 2017.

She is a board member for the Michigan 4-H Foundation, Clinton County Conservation District and Barn Believers.

Jennifer and her husband, Chris, live in St. Johns, Mich., and collectively have five grown children and four grandchildren.

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