Michelle Fischbach (left), Anna Euerle, Dean Urdahl, Doug Anderson, Josh Barka, Bob Huffman and Keith Johnson took a group photo at the event on September 18, 2021 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Dairy Cooperative of the First District Association. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune LITCHFIELD — Based on the vision and leadership of local dairy farmers 100 years ago, a major expansion of the Lichfield First District Association prepares farmers-owned cooperatives for the next century.
In an outdoor event on September 18th, the cooperative celebrated its 100th anniversary-at the same time the grand opening of the expanded processing plant-including visits, food, commemorative prizes and speeches.
While celebrating past successes, we are also concerned about the future of dairy processing plants and the next generation of dairy farmers who sell milk to the first district association.
Bob said: "We are really looking forward to ensuring that the 200th anniversary is bigger and more special, and we will do our best to ensure that we continue to follow what we (leaders) have helped build here before." Hoffman, CEO.
With the recent expansion, the First District Association has the ability to pack cheese cubes, which can produce up to 16 cubes per minute. Contribution / The first district association has 12 silos, each silo can hold 70,000 gallons of raw milk, the three-layer cheese belt is the largest in the world, can produce 40,500 pounds of cheese per hour, and a cheese block tower can produce 16 , Producing 40 pounds of cheese per minute, a barrel house that can fill 500 pound cheese barrels in 43 seconds, and a new milk receiving facility that can pump 3,200 gallons of milk per minute. The cooperative is ready for the future.
Josh Barka, chairman of the board of directors, said that the cooperative is largely due to "a group of farmers who had the courage, vision and leadership to move things forward" 100 years ago.
"I don't think they can imagine the scale and scope of the dairy industry today, but I think they will be proud that the cooperative is still a great market, which is owned by farmers and controlled by patrons," Barka said.
"Like them, it is up to us to plan and decide the future we want to be," he said.
Although the scale of Minnesota dairy farms continues to expand, Hoffman said that most of the 740 members of the cooperative have fewer than 400 cows and are the future backbone of District 1. "They are as flexible as possible," Hoffman said of the dairy farmers in the area.
Most of the milk processed in District 1 comes from within 120 miles of Lichfield.
Ensuring the future dairy market for the next generation of farmers is a key driver of decades of expansion.
According to historical information provided by the cooperative, the First Region Association (commonly known as FDA) was established in 1920 when 11 regional dairy factories joined forces to improve efficiency.
During the centennial celebration on September 18, 2021, a banner showing the 100-year history of the First District Association was displayed at the dairy processing plant in Lichfield. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune In 1926, they built a buttermilk drying plant. Later, in 1942, a factory for drying skimmed milk was added.
In 1950, the FDA purchased the first bulk milk truck, and by 1971, it had completely eliminated milk tanks and built a new whey factory. By the mid-1970s, the FDA stopped producing butter and switched to cheese and whey products.
According to the historical timeline of the cooperative, a new evaporator was installed in 1984, making the FDA "the most modern and energy-efficient factory in the world", and in the late 1990s, it continued to modernize by adding robotics to the powder packaging line Modifications and other additions to cheese processing operations.
In 2001, the construction project increased the production of cheese, lactose, and whey protein, and in 2005, a state-of-the-art laboratory and research center were built on site.
In 2010, the additional 42,000 square feet increased capacity and efficiency, and by 2012, the plant was processing 5 million pounds of milk per day. By 2017, daily milk production increased to 5.5 million pounds.
In the autumn of 2018, the construction of the new boiler plant was completed, and the board of directors commissioned the construction of the latest boiler plant.
This three-part expansion project was completed this fall, just in time for the anniversary celebration.
Employees and customers of the Lichfield District 1 Association Dairy Processing Plant celebrated its 100th anniversary on September 18, 2021. The event includes the grand opening of their latest expansion, which will help the factory's positioning for the next 100 years. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune The project includes the construction of a new 8-cabin drive-through milk reception facility, expansion of the lactose factory and a new cheese factory.
With this latest investment, the FDA can now process 7.5 million pounds of milk per day.
Hoffman said the FDA is the largest farmer-owned dairy processing plant in the upper Midwest, and the quality of cheese produced here "puts us at the high end of other major processors."
Barka said that this expansion is a new chapter in the long history of the cooperative.
"We need to continue our 100-year tradition of innovation, excellence and quality," he said. "We can believe that our previous generations are proud of the strength of our cooperative because we will continue to work together to strengthen our market share while building for future generations."
Barka said that the past FDA leaders and patrons “take great risks and have a lot of foresight to start this cooperative without a roadmap,” and the current team of employees and patrons “continue to adhere to these traditions and go beyond many. Standards developed. A few years ago."
Employees and customers of the Lichfield District 1 Association Dairy Processing Plant celebrated its 100th anniversary on September 18, 2021. The event includes the grand opening of their latest expansion, which will help the factory's positioning for the next 100 years. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune is located near the Litchfield Center, and the FDA's 100-year expansion is not without challenges.
The house was bought and razed to make room for huge plants, and the neighboring church traded parking lots.
The City of Lichfield has been meeting the FDA’s road closure requirements for many years, and has expanded its municipal sewage treatment facilities and power generation lines several times to meet the increasing demand for processors. It is a “main partner” and the FDA said Ge Anderson said the director of operations.
"They had to expand with us," Anderson said. "This is a long process, but it works very well."
Mayor Keith Johnson called the partnership between the city and the FDA a “marriage”, which allowed the cooperative to expand its scale by processing milk from 47 Minnesota counties sold around the world. "Little Litchfield" appeared on the map.
Johnson also praised Rep. Dean Urdahl for taking the lead in helping the city pay for wastewater and power generation upgrades in past guarantee requests. Johnson said these costs totaled about $13 million and helped the FDA reach current production capacity.
The employees and customers of the Lichfield District 1 Association Dairy Processing Plant celebrated its 100th anniversary on September 18. The event includes the grand opening of their latest expansion, which will help the factory's positioning for the next 100 years. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune Urdahl touted the early history of his family and dairy cooperatives, and read the House of Representatives resolution, praising the FDA for "100 years of changes in the dairy industry", and emphasized the cooperative's global impact-operations.
Urdahl held a bag of Dorito French fries and said: “Every Dorito in the world is coated with cheese from here.”
Barka confirmed that this statement is true.
Other politicians weighed the FDA's role in the dairy industry.
"Cooperatives are really about people. Michel Fischbach, the seventh district councilwoman of Painesville, said it has to do with management, with farmers, and with members. "This is part of a strong community. "
Minnesota State Agriculture Commissioner Thom Peterson said that despite all the challenges facing drought and food supply issues in agriculture, it is a good thing to “celebrate the positive things that are happening in agriculture” through the FDA’s past success and future growth. "Let us look forward to the next 100 years," he said.
There are 10 cheese barrels in the first zone, which are used to make cheese curds. After adding an enzyme called rennet, the blade circles in the vat and cuts the developing cheese into small pieces. Whey is made into whey protein concentrate and lactose powder. Contribution / First District Association-There are 12 silos, each silo can hold 70,000 gallons of raw milk
— After the milk is pasteurized and passed through the ultrafiltration system, it is moved to the cheese factory where the curd is separated from the whey.
— Liquid whey is made into whey protein concentrate and lactose powder.
— The FDA's three-layer cheese belt is the largest in the world and aims to produce 40,500 pounds of cheese per hour.
— The block tower produces 40 pounds of cheese blocks at 16 blocks per minute.
— Cheese block packaging creates new market opportunities.
— A bucket of 500 pounds of cheese can be filled in 43 seconds.
— 8 tank milk receiving facility can pump 3,200 gallons of milk per minute
This story was originally published in the Rooted edition of West Central Tribune on November 6, 2021. For more stories in this section, please visit https://issuu.com/westcentraltribune