A bright future

ZUMBROTA, Minn. – The Dairy Farmers of America plant in Zumbrota has grown in size not only to meet customers’ demands but to better serve the dairy farmers in the area and the communities it serves.

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“What really drove this decision was the needs of the customers,” said Terry Johnson, plant manager. “When you make this investment, there is a continued demand and a process of creating value-added products that also help add value to our dairy farmer owners and end product that goes out.”
The $90 million expansion added an additional 86,000 square feet to the facility which initially boasted 110,000 square feet. The expansion also allows the plant to grow from 140 employees to 160.
The expansion, completed in July and celebrated in September along with the Zumbrota plant’s 50th anniversary, includes a waste water treatment facility, drying tower, wet mixing system, lab upgrades and utility upgrades. The dairy powder drying tower has the capacity to dry an additional 25% per year.  
The Zumbrota location takes in 1.5 million pounds of raw milk each day. The milk is used to create cheese, condensed whey and cheese powders. Johnson said the recent increase in production capabilities delivers value back to the farmer owners.
“We’re able to highlight farmers and market their milk globally,” he said.
The expansion stems from a want to be better stewards to the community. The waste water treatment facility enables DFA to discharge clean waste water to the city. They also added a column that eliminates odor from the air when being discharged from the plant.
Johnson said such improvements will increase plant efficiency and production capabilities while also lowering the cost of water discharge.     
The addition also added safety measures for employees.
“We had to be mindful of the community and community concerns,” Johnson said. “It makes us a better neighbor.”
Johnson has been the plant manager since 2020 when the expansion began. He was a dairy farmer from Wisconsin but became interested in food production. He started working in a small cheese plant in Wilson, Wisconsin, and then took a job at Nestle before coming to DFA.     Johnson said he feels fortunate to have been part of the expansion.
“It is important for me to contribute to DFA,” he said.
As DFA expanded its presence in Zumbrota, Johnson said they took care to use local products and businesses whenever possible. They worked with local contractors and had new equipment for the plant made in Minnesota.
“My hope is to see the things we put in to make ourselves better for our customers and for the community continue to do exactly what we project it to do: to set a standard for our site and encourages future investments,” Johnson said.