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Two new dairy processing plants expected in Michigan by December 2020

A cow.
Amanda Kerr
/
Unsplash

Michigan dairy farmers are getting a $510 million boost. Two new dairy processing facilities are scheduled to be built in St. Johns, north of Lansing. The plants are expected to create more than 250 new jobs.

“This is a tremendous win for the dairy farmers in our state, for all of Michigan,” said Governor Rick Snyder, who is a fan of Michigan’s cows.

“We have the second most productive cows in the entire nation, second only to Colorado and they’re not even close in terms of number of cows,” Snyder said. “So, we have the best cows in the country.”

The idea is to give Michigan a local place for milk, instead of having to haul it out of state.

John Wilson of Dairy Farmers of America said this will help Michigan dairy farmers – who have been hit hard recently with a milk surplus and uncertainty on the trade front.

“This plant’s gonna soak up eight million pounds of milk a day, and that’s a big deal for dairy farmers in the state of Michigan,” he said.

The money comes from private investors – supported by more than $20 million in grants and tax abatements from the state. Those are in the final stages of being approved. Construction for the facilities is expected to start in September and be finished by December 2020.

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Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R
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