Craigs Station Ventures
Farm Partner in WNY Enterprise LLC
d/b/a Craigs Station Creamery
2014 Ag Economic Outlook Conference
Cornell University – Ithaca, NY
Craigs Station Ventures
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Family owned and operated dairy farms located in the western New York milkshed
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Producing high quality raw milk products
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More than 13,000 cows housed on dairies located within 25 miles of the plant
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Producing approximately 110,000 gallons of milk/day for delivery to local processors
Craigs Station Ventures
1) Noblehurst Farms, York
2) Lawnel Farms, York
3) Mulligan Farm, Avon
4) Coyne Farms, Avon
5) Synergy, Wyoming
6) Southview Farm, Castile
7) Baker Brook Dairy, Attica 8) McCormick’s Dairy, Bliss
Craigs Station Ventures
Noblehurst Farms, York
Lawnel Farms, York
1,650 cows
1,500 cows; two sites
Mulligan Farm, Avon
Coyne Farms, Avon
1,200 cows
1,000 cows
Craigs Station Ventures
Synergy, Wyoming
Southview Farm, Castile
2,100 cows
2,000 cows, two sites
Baker Brook Dairy, Attica
McCormick’s Dairy, Bliss
1,600 cows
2,300 cows
Craigs Station Ventures
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Craigs Station was a stop on the DL&W (Delaware, Lackawanna and Western)
railroad. It was located about a mile to the east of the plant site.
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Dairy farmers used to bring milk and cream in 10 gallon cans to stations like this one
for collection. The train would transport those cans to a creamery for bottling and
shipment to New York City, Boston, and other Northeast cities.
WNYE/CSC Joint Venture
• Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Craigs
Station Ventures (CSV) formed JV in mid-2013
– DFA is nation’s largest dairy cooperative
– CSV comprised of eight 1000+ cow dairy farms
located in the heart of western NY milkshed
• Broke ground in mid-September 2013 on cold
milk separation facility
– Commissioned early October 2014
– Operational on October 17, 2014
View from Above
Expanded View from Above
First load saleable milk – 10/17/14
First load saleable milk – 10/17/14
More pictures from the first day
More pictures from the first day
More pictures from the first day
Products
• It all starts with consistent, high quality farm milk
– Grade A rBST-free
• Skim milk / Standardized milk
• 40% butterfat heat-treated cream
• Cold bowl separated
– Reduced protein denaturing (standardized/skim)
– Enhanced cream functionality
• Kosher certified
• Product fortification available (i.e. Vitamin D)
Attributes
• Locally produced New York milk
– All eight farms located within 25 miles of
WNYE/CSC
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Traceability back to these farms
DFA Gold-standard-plus production
WNYE powered by on-farm green energy
Reduced carbon footprint
– Low hauling miles, green energy, modern/efficient
milk production and processing
Sustainability
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Members committed to sustainable, efficient farming practices
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One of the CSV member farms has largest on-farm digester in New York state
Noblehurst operates anaerobic digester next to milk plant that:
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Recycles facility’s waste effluent
Provides green energy to facility
Reduces plant’s carbon footprint
Synergy Biogas
Noblehurst Green Energy
440 kw on-farm co-digestion plant
Arranged to accommodate 2nd digester and
doubling of energy output
1.4 MW Bigadan A/S owned and
operated on-farm co-digestion plant
Also processes local dairy plant
effluent (whey)
Future expansion to 2.0 MW
Operational Efficiencies
• Tanker washing capability at WNYE/CSC
• Milk scheduling advantages
– 100% loads at 60,000+ lbs milk per load
• Quality checked loads before shipment
• Reduced shrinkage at buyer’s plant
Relationship
• Farm-direct relationship with the added
protection of a $12 billion dairy cooperative
– Periodic meetings with WNYE/CSC plant management
and CSV farmer representatives
– Relationship with DFA, America’s leading dairy
cooperative
• Key New York state regulatory relationships
• Global business connections
• Price risk management opportunities
– Improved price predictability
– Reduced price volatility
– Better performance to budgets
33 DFA Affiliated Plants Nationwide
Minneapolis, Minn.
Plymouth, Wis.
Zumbrota, Minn.
Fargo, N.D.
Cass City, Mich.
Cedarburg, Wis.
Portland, Maine
Linwood, N.Y.
Middlebury Center, Pa.
Farmington, Minn.
Hughson, Calif.
Adrian, Mich.
Winthrop, Minn.
Fallon, Nev.
St. Albans, Vt.*
Rochester, Minn.
Fort Morgan, Colo.
New Britain, Conn.
Springfield, Mo.
Goshen, Ind.
Reading, Pa.
Frederick, Md.
Turlock, Calif.
Beaver, Utah
Cabool, Mo.
Mechanicsburg, Pa.
New Wilmington, Pa.
Ventura, Calif.
Portales, N.M.
Winnsboro, Texas
Ingredients–Cheese
Ingredients–Protein
Contract Manufacturing
Consumer Brands
Fluid Milk and Ice Cream
West Middlesex, Pa.
Houston, Texas
Schulenburg, Texas
WNYE/CSC Joint Venture
• Why? (cooperative perspective)
– Increasing demand for high quality milk
components in the Northeastern U.S. dairy market
– Consumers/retailers calling for more traceability
and sustainability from their suppliers
• In dairy, much of this falls back to the farm level
– DFA customers focusing more on marketing and
product development and less on manufacturing
• This JV offers those customers a supply chain partner
WNYE/CSC Joint Venture
• Why? (farmer perspective)
– Expand local dairy marketing opportunities
– Diversify direct investments beyond the farm
– Provide a different opportunity to work with likeminded producers
– Reduce the cost of hauling farm milk to market
– Connect food, cows, milk, farmers and family
farms with consumers’ families
Industry Response
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We understand that some say this project is:
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Non-traditional, out-of-the-box, or even risky
Others will say this is:
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Disruptive to orderly milk marketing
So was this!
Next Steps
• Northeast Dairy Market Development
– Catalyze add’l dairy processing investments
(particularly small to medium sized operations)
using the milk supplies from this facility
• Harnessing value for milk/plant attributes
• Additional investment
– Niche opportunities within existing footprint
– Phase II expansion