USA: New Dairy Processing Facilities Likely to Impact Regional Milk Demand

The landscape of milk production and distribution in the United States is poised for a transformation as new and expanded dairy processing facilities come online. According to Leonard Polzin of the University of Wisconsin Extension, a remarkable investment of over eight billion dollars in stainless steel is propelling this change, though the journey to full production capacity will take time.

"A few plants are going to start here in February and then, you know, as you go along, in 2025 and in future years, we’ll see more of these coming online and these projects being start to finish," Polzin stated in an interview with Brownfield. The expansion spans across product categories, prominently featuring cheese but also encompassing other dairy products ranging from fluid to soft and hard varieties.

When addressing milk sourcing for these expanded facilities, Polzin notes a harmonized effort between processors and producers. "That’s kind of what we’ve seen in that most recent report that came out on cow numbers," he said, highlighting a correlation between regions seeing noticeable increases in cow numbers and the construction of new plants.

Introducing a new plant to operational status typically involves a six-month ramp-up to full production, followed by additional time before consumers see the products on shelves.