The three-dairy family operation will ship all its milk to Texas plant.
A Kansas family dairy has signed a deal to supply its milk exclusively to yogurt-maker Dannon Co.
“We’re incredibly excited and honored to be a part of Dannon,” said Ken McCarty, part owner of the McCarty Family Farms. “We hope we can continue to grow.”
McCarty said the venture had begun April 1, with his family’s dairies shipping the milk to Dannon’s plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
The family operation consists of three dairies in northwest Kansas. Together, they milk 7,200 cows.
“I applaud McCarty Family Farms and Dannon for entering into a successful partnership that benefits farmers, the small businesses that support farmers, consumers and the community as a whole,” Kansas Governor Sam Brownback said this week. “This partnership is a fabulous example of how agriculture can create good-paying rural jobs with the potential to spur significant additional job creation in the future.”
A fourth-generation family of dairy producers, the McCartys moved to Kansas from Pennsylvania in 2000. Today, the operation consists of McCarty Dairy near Rexford, Kan., Bird City Dairy near Bird City, Kan., and McCarty Brothers’ Heifers.
The Dannon Company is the leading-selling yogurt maker in the U.S. Since its partnership with the dairy was initiated, more than 50 direct jobs have been created in rural Kansas, effectively doubling the size of McCarty Family Farms to more than 100 associates. Additionally, the construction of the dairy’s new milk-condensing operation required more than 55,000 man hours.
“Creating jobs that are sustainable is key to the future of areas like rural Kansas and the agricultural community,” said McCarty. “Additionally, as the dairy has grown, my brothers and I and the rest of our team have sought and found ways to improve our environmental sustainability, including reducing water use, improving our cow herd and using manure to fertilize crops. We’re young and ambitious and looking for additional environmental sustainability initiatives, which are always either underway or being planned.”
“Dannon began working with the McCartys in 2011 in order to reduce the impact of the volatility of the price of milk and reduce the impact of the company’s environmental footprint and find ways to create a closer, more direct relationship between the farmer and the consumer,” said David Lainchbury, Dannon’s vice president of sourcing and supplier development. “The relationship we have today with the McCartys and the milk-condensing operation represent early results of our ongoing and ambitious goals. We are proud of this partnership and hope others will see the benefits of this process.”
