The Dairy Farmers of America St. Albans plant has reached the midway point of a $30 million expansion project, set to be completed this fall.
The project, which broke ground in early June, is designed to increase the efficiency of the plant’s operations by building three new receiving bays to make the process of receiving and unloading milk run more smoothly. In addition, the company is constructing new silos to expand the plant’s milk storage capabilities.
The expansion was part of an agreement that merged the St. Albans Co-op with the Dairy Farmers of America last year.
DFA spokesperson Kiersten Bourgeois said plans for the construction have been underway for months, and have largely been uninterrupted by the pandemic, despite the coronavirus’ impact on Vermont dairy farmers as a whole.
“Fortunately, we have been able to keep on track with our construction plans despite the coronavirus,” Bourgeois wrote in an email. “Of course, we have had to adapt some of our plans to accommodate for additional precautions and limit exposure to our employees and the community.”
Since the beginning of the year, 25 Vermont dairy farms have closed for good — with 21 of those farms attributing their closures to financial hardships brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the first three months of the economic shutdown, tens of thousands of gallons of milk were dumped as Vermont dairy farmers expected to report $42 million in losses because of a steep decline in milk prices, coupled with increased operating costs due to Covid-19.
Earlier this month, Gov. Phil Scott announced $25 million in relief grants for dairy farmers and processors to try to combat some of that loss.
Bourgeois said the upgrade will ensure the plant’s future “for many years to come” — even during economic uncertainty, like that brought on by the pandemic. She said that’s a good guarantee for the average Vermont dairy farmer.
“Any time investments are made in the dairy infrastructure, dairy farmers are positioned better for the future,” she said.
