Four dairy co-ops eye Western Kansas for new processing plant

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP)--Dairy cooperatives based in Missouri, New Mexico and Texas are considering a milk processing plant in southwest Kansas, an area that has notable growth in dairy cattle herds.

There are now 20 large-scale dairies in western Kansas, mostly in the southwest corner of the state. Mike Brouk, a dairy Extension specialist at Kansas State University, estimates 65,000 to 70,000 dairy cows are in that zone, well over half the 112,000 in the state.

The cooperatives interested in a western Kansas plant are Dairy Farmers of America, of Kansas City, Mo.; Select Milk Producers, of Artesia, N.M.; Lone Star Milk Producers, of Windthorst, Texas; and Zia Milk Producers, of Roswell, N.M. They purchase the bulk of western Kansas milk and would like to have a plant closer to that area so they can cut their transportation costs.

"I would say yes, we're going to build," said John Dunker, spokesman for the Greater Southwest Agency, marketing arm of the four cooperatives. He said a feasibility report is nearing completion and a decision probably won't be made until the first quarter of next year.

Dunker, who is based in Rogersville, Mo., said seven potential sites, which he would not identify, are being investigated. He said the plant, if built, would be located "where the dairy cows are."

The co-ops are also looking at eastern Colorado, but Dunker said southwest Kansas is a more probable location for a plant, which would employ 45 to 55 people. The $50 million plant would produce annual revenues estimated at $105 million.

Kansas ranked 18th in the nation in milk production last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It says volume of the state's dairy industry increased by 57.7 percent between 1999 and 2004.