With much of the Upper Midwest processing capacity maxed out in terms of milk production, finding a new home for milk is not an easy task. Lucas Sjostrom, the executive director of Minnesota Milk shared that Hastings Creamery in Hastings, Minn., has ceased operations for at least 30 days, leaving 45 farms to find a new home for their milk.
“We’ve been working over the past few weeks with the farmers to find alternative markets while government officials have been looking to find a solution to keep the plant open,” he says. “We believe every milk buyer across the Upper Midwest is aware of the situation. Plants are already voluntarily dumping milk on-farm on certain days and even though we have transportation available, most plants cannot currently take the milk even for free.”
Hastings Creamery processes 150,000 lbs. of raw milk each day and purchases it from dairy farmers located in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. A variety of dairy products are under Hastings Creamery label, as well as some private labels for other companies and grocery store chains.
By KAREN BOHNERT
June 7, 2023
dairyherd.com
