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New dairy opens for businessANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)--The Matanuska Creamery is open for business. The Wasilla dairy, which hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 30, was launched with a $643,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Mat-Su Valley's four dairy farmers are glad to see local milk back on store shelves after the closure of Matanuska Maid. Anchorage-based Matanuska Maid was taken over by the state in the mid-1980s. The money-losing operation was shut down last December. Alaska's only other dairy beside the Matanuska Creamery is Northern Lights Dairy, which supplies Fairbanks and Delta Junction. "This is the longest winter I've spent at Point MacKenzie," dairy farmer Wayne Brost told the crowd at the May 30 event. Matanuska Creamery has been picking up milk since mid-March, with early pickups pressed into 35,000 pounds of cheese. Those who invested in "cheese futures" bought some of the cheese upfront and have first dibs on the finished product. The remainder will soon be on Fred Meyer shelves. Bright yellow gallon jugs of milk hit Fred Meyer coolers in late May, as quickly as one day after the milk was collected. "If you want milk any fresher, you have to buy a cow," quipped creamery manager Kyle Beus. Sales of creamery products could get a boost in October when Target opens new stores in Anchorage and Wasilla. The retail chain has agreed to stock the local milk and cheese, according to Beus. 6/30/08 Date: 6/25/08
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