Idaho Milk Products opened a new milk processing plant in June with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and distinguished guests attending from around the state. The $190 million plant is the company’s second processing facility in Jerome, Idaho. Its milk protein concentrate plant, located next door, opened nearly two decades ago and is one of the largest single-site producers of milk protein concentrate in the world.
One of the purposes of the new plant is to process heavy cream and blend it with milk protein concentrates to produce protein-packed ice cream, both in pints and bars. Protein-enhanced foods fed by healthy eating trends are a growing consumer category.
“This entire project is the coming together of inspiration, imagination and innovation,” said Daragh Maccabee, CEO of Idaho Milk Products. “It allows us to take our milk protein powders to the next stage with customized blending solutions, and it allows us to take the same value-added approach with cream as we have done with milk protein. It will allow us to combine all our existing ingredients from our milk protein plant into new or enhanced versions of premium ice cream.”
Maccabee said he’s proud to work for “some of the best dairy farmers in the world.”
Bettencourt Dairies, Big Sky Dairies, Skyline Dairy and Crossbred Dairies are the partner farms behind Idaho Milk Products.
“None of this happens without the cows and the dairies,” said Rick Onaindia of Bettencourt Dairy and an Idaho Milk Products board member. “All the dairies providing milk to this plant are located here in Idaho. We take care of animals the right way. We strive for excellence, efficiency, innovation and sustainability.”
Since Idaho Milk Products opened in 2007, the partner dairies have grown the amount of milk shipped to their plant from 2.7 million pounds of milk a day to 4.5 million pounds of milk per day. That’s equivalent to the average daily U.S. milk production from about 56,000 cows.
Onaindia said 100% of the milk at Idaho Milk Products has always come from its owner dairies.
“Idaho is a great place to dairy and do business,” Onaindia said. “Our group has dairied in other states, and we’ve seen other dairies all over the United States, and they fall short of what Idaho can provide.”
Michael Dykes, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, praised the dairies behind the plant for their foresight into milk processing innovation.
At full capacity, Idaho Milk Products’ new ice cream plant can make up to 300 million novelty ice cream items annually or up to 66 million pints of ice cream annually. Image by Walt Cooley.
“These visionary dairy farmers placed bold bets on milk proteins about 20 years ago,” Dykes said. “The current protein trend is absolutely amazing. You guys saw it. We were visionaries.”
One of the challenges of enriching cream with protein when making ice cream is the formation of what the industry calls “fish eyes” or lumps of dry product that don’t get fully mixed in. The new plant has proprietary blending technology to avoid the formation of these in the ice cream it will make. At full capacity, the plant can make up to 300 million novelty ice cream items annually or up to 66 million pints of ice cream annually.
The new plant is located on a street named “Dairy Drive” in Jerome. Idaho Milk Products and the city claim there is more milk processed in 1 square mile in Jerome between the plants around Dairy Drive than in anywhere else in the world.
“We here in Jerome support the dairy industry and recognize the importance it has on our economy, our daily lives and success of our community moving forward,” said Jerome City Administrator Mike Williams. “You don’t have to look far from this location to see that dairy and agriculture are the backbone of our community.”
Idaho Gov. Brad Little, who attended the ribbon cutting, praised the Idaho dairy industry as the most modern in the world.
“Idaho has the most modern dairies, the most modern milk processing facilities,” Little said. “We’ve created a growth atmosphere here, and that atmosphere comes from the people and their pioneering spirit.”
Onaindia said the dairies started Idaho Milk Products to take control of the pricing and value of their milk. This new plant aims to expand that strategy and help the owner dairies better control the fat component value of their milk production.
“The idea we started with two decades ago was to take control of our dairy businesses,” Onaindia said. “We wanted to sell our own products and set our own prices, and take control of our businesses … We remain committed to making world-class products for our customers.”
