Dairy Farmers of America to Close St. Albans Processing Plant
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) has announced the closure of its long-standing processing plant located in St. Albans, Vermont, scheduled for August 17. This decision will impact approximately 80 employees, who will lose their jobs once operations cease, as stated by the company on Wednesday. The plant, which has been an integral part of Franklin County's dairy industry for decades, converts milk into cream, condensed milk, and powder products.
The decision to close the plant comes after DFA acquired it through a merger with the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery in 2019. The company described the move as part of broader operational and network changes necessary to better serve their farmer-owners and customers, without indicating plans to reopen in the future. Alongside the processing plant, the adjoining St. Albans Creamery & Supply store will also shut down.
According to Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets, the announcement came as a surprise to economic development officials. However, Curtis Clough, representing many plant employees through Teamsters Local 597, noted that workers had been concerned about the plant's future due to the closure of other major milk processors in the area. Notably, a German company is withdrawing from Franklin Foods in Enosburg Falls, and the Hood-owned plant in Barre closed earlier this year.
Franklin County, home to the largest number of dairy farms in Vermont, has experienced significant job losses, with around 600 jobs lost in dairy-related plants over the past year. Tim Smith, Executive Director of the Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation, remarked that the region hasn't faced such severe job losses since the closure of Energizer's battery plant in 2013, which employed about 170 people.
The DFA plant had been subject to labor disputes, with workers striking last fall over working conditions and wages. Furthermore, local authorities declared the plant a public health hazard earlier this year due to a persistent sulfur smell.
Despite recent multi-million dollar investments in the facility, which could make it appealing to future operators, local and state officials are working to find new occupants for the other plants facing closure. The job market in Franklin County, with its population just over 50,000, might not be able to absorb such a rapid influx of unemployed workers.
