Massey said the change will not affect the Zumbrota employees. A decision is yet to be made, but Massey said that DairiConcepts needs more room to expand, and the Zumbrota cheese plant has that room.
DairiConcepts, which is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, was founded in 2000 and is a joint venture of dairy cooperative DFA and Fontera Co-operative Group LTD, a New Zealand farmer-owned multi-national dairy cooperative.
The company makes cheese and dairy ingredients, hard Italian cheeses, dairy powders and concentrates, and Ascentra flavor enhancers. It has eight plants located in Dalbo, Minnesota; Bruce, Wisconsin; Greenwood, Wisconsin; Chili, Wisconsin; Pollock, South Dakota; Allerton, Iowa; El Dorado Springs, Missouri; and Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, and two development labs and a testing plant.
DairiConcepts does business in Europe, North and South America, and Asia, and is expanding into the Mid-East. Its plants are certified for organic, kosher and halal production. (Halal means “permissible,” according to Islamic law, and is based on a number of guidelines that must be followed during production of the products made at DairiConcepts.)
Dairy Farmers of America, with its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, was created on Jan. 1, 1998, with the merger of the southern region of Associated Milk Producers Inc., Mid-America Dairymen Inc., Milk Marketing Inc., and Western Dairymen Cooperative Inc. It is a farmer-owned dairy co-op with over 15,000 members.
Zumbrota City Council members received a heads up about the potential change at the DFA cheese plant from City Administrator Neil Jensen, who wrote in the Feb. 5 council agenda, “DFA is making changes in the ownership of the facility, and if these changes come to fruition, we will have to reissue our wastewater permit to the proper owner. I would recommend that any payment alterations come after ownership is clarified.”
Based on that recommendation, Mayor Rich Bauer advised council members that the city should not pursue the proposed rate increases for DFA that were approved by council members at the last meeting, “until the new owners are on board.” Those increases include a hike from $4.50 to $6 per pound for biochemical oxygen demand andtotal suspended solids) violations. If left as is, there would also be increases in wastewater fees from $15.25 per 100 pounds of BOD to $20.25 per 100 pounds in 2015, and to $25.25 per 100 pounds in 2016.
Massey pointed out that because DFA is already in partnership with DairiConcepts, news about a potential change at the Zumbrota cheese plant was made earlier than if it was being sold to an outside company.
Source: Republican Eagle
