Economic development officials are expecting big things from the Dairy Farmers of America’s new dry milk processing plant in Fallon.
The state-of-the-art, $85 million plant, which is already producing thousands of 50-pound bags, is the Dairy Farmers first in Northern Nevada that can produce up to two million pounds of powdered milk per day when running at full capacity.
“As a milk marketing cooperative focused on our dairy farmer owners, we have a responsibility and an obligation to explore new options to bring our members greater returns,” said Mark Korsmeyer, executive vice president of DFA, in a statement.
It will be a couple of years before that number is reached. But once the plant is at full capacity, it will produce approximately 250,000 pounds of dried dairy ingredients daily, or 90 million pounds annually, mostly for the Chinese and other Asian markets.
Bob Shriver, a consultant to the city of Fallon and owner of Robert Shriver Consultants, said the dry milk processing plant the most important piece of the city’s and Churchill County's economic development since the Naval Air Station in Fallon.
Shriver expects the plant to create some 1,500 jobs over the next five years as more truck drivers are needed, farm implement stores add staff, tractor and truck sales increase, and more veterinarians are needed to deal with larger herds. He says the industry hiring will lead to more service industry jobs locally, as workers will eat our and buy groceries.
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Bob Shriver, owner of Robert Shriver Consultants and a consultant to the city of Fallon
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