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BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
MILK & CHEESE PRODUCERS
The proliferation of dairies in the late 1900’s to early 2000’s has drastically created the need for milk- and cheese-processing plants, including Idaho Milk Products, Agropur, Darigold, and Commercial Creamery Company. There is a strong need today for more processors.
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Jerome has four milk and cheese processors providing milk, cheese, and milk and cheese powders.
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Southern Idaho’s milk processors process millions of gallons of milk per day and employ hundreds of people.
Idaho Milk Products began operations in 2009, sourcing milk from three of the largest independently owned and operated dairies in the United States.
Idaho Milk Products began as a partnership with families—with the goal of finding success by working on behalf of our customers. Today, they are a team of hardworking scientists, technicians, production specialists, and business people who share a simple purpose: to deliver the highest quality dairy-ingredient products and most reliable service to food formulators around the world.
Their products include: IdaPro Milk Permeate Powder processing 55 million pounds per year, IdaPro Cream ships out to customers on the same day of milking – delivering 92 million pounds of annual supply, and Milk Protein Concentrate and Isolate are made in the largest processing facility in the world with more than 40 million pounds of output per year.
For more information, visit www.idahomilkproducts.com.
Founded in 1938, Agropur Cooperative is a North American dairy industry leader. With sales nearing $6.4 billion, the Cooperative is a source of pride for its 3,290 members and over 8,000 employees. Agropur processes more than 1.6 billion gallons per year at 39 locations across North America, boasting an impressive roster of brands and products. Experienced cheese makers, and state-of-the-art equipment, create cheeses of outstanding consistency. "We invite you to discover our capabilities whether utilizing cheese as a stand-alone product, functional ingredient or pizza topping. Our sustained history of customer satisfaction is a testament to the readiness and commitment of our team to ensure our partners succeed." The Jerome Plant was formerly referred to as Davisco and Jerome Cheese.
The Jerome Idaho Plant is a large part of the Agropur family with the following activity:
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– 90+ truckloads of raw milk received
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– 15+ truckloads of cheese shipped
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– 7+ truckloads of whey powder shipped all over the U.S. and overseas
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– An average of 3 loads of cream shipped to butter and ice-cream plants across the United States
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– Over 400,000 gal. (about 3,400,000 lbs.) of useable water is produced.
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– 5,200,000 lbs. of milk is processed into 520,000 lbs. of cheese.
Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Darigold, Inc. is the marketing- and processing-subsidiary of Northwest Dairy Association: a producer cooperative proudly owned by farmers across six U.S. states. Darigold produces a full line of dairy products for retail, food service, ingredient and specialty markets.
The company also produces cheese, milk powder, and whey products for institutions, food brokers, and food-processing companies. These ingredient customers range from small food processors to very large multi-national food companies with household names. Darigold, Inc. operates 12 processing plants throughout the Northwest to serve its dairy-farm families.
Founded in 1908, Commercial Creamery is a leading manufacturer of cheese powder, specialty dairy powders, and seasonings. From the production facility in Jerome, Idaho, their expertise and ongoing research in spray-dried cheese powders and other specialty dairy powders are unmatched. Their products are necessary ingredients in a variety of delicious foods, including unique snack seasonings, rice and pasta dishes, entrees, baked goods, dips, dressings, sauces, and soups. Focused on quality, consistency and excellent customer service, Commercial Creamery serves numerous clients in the United States and throughout the world and exports its products to more than 30 countries.
Founded more than 20 years ago as a milk-marketing cooperative MVQMP has become a trusted, reliable supplier of quality raw milk to its customers. Today, MVQMP can count some of the world's leading cheese, powder, and fluid manufacturers among its customers.
The membership and board of directors recognize that while it is important to maintain the best relationship with its raw-milk customers, it is also necessary to expand into the processing of milk into finished retail and food-service products in order to continue to prosper. We feel there are many advantages to processing milk in Idaho. The cost to process is very low compared to the national average. Idaho also has an ample milk supply that has been historically one of the most competitively priced milk markets in the nation.
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"For the last several years, we have had numerous studies done on the capability of our facility. Through these studies, we have found anything in dairy processing is possible. In 2019, MVQMP completed a $20 million processing facility on site and began processing condensed milk and other products that would fit with market needs."