Cheers! Dannon, McCarty Farms toast their processor-producer marriage

Gov. Brownback, Tom McCarty and Dannon CEO Gustavo Valle — Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (from left), farmer Tom McCarty and Dannon CEO Gustavo Valle celebrate their business relationship. Valle talks about the company's strategy for growth and new product development in "Dannon responds to the U.S. yogurt boom."

McCarty plant — The new McCarty Family Farms plant in Rexford, Kansas, will supply milk exclusively to the Dannon yogurt facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

The McCarty family, from left: Mike, Clay, Judy, Tom, David and Ken.

The Dannon Co. and McCarty Family Farms announced Wednesday, June 13, the initial accomplishments from the first stage of their new collaboration. The farmer is selling its milk exclusively to Dannon, which is processing it into yogurt at Dannon's Fort Worth, Texas, plant.

One environmental sustainability initiative of the collaboration that is already yielding benefits is the construction of a milk condensing operation at the farm, which is now operating and reducing the environmental impact of milk shipping. This also allows the farm to reuse the water that is removed during condensing of the milk.

Dannon and McCarty were seeking ways to reduce the impact of the volatility of the price of milk and to continuously improve on environmental sustainability.

According to McCarty Family Farms, this new relationship enables them to fully understand their customer’s needs in terms of milk quality.
The fourth-generation family farm in northwest Kansas provides milk exclusively and directly to Dannon's Texas processing plant. The relationship overcomes some of the pricing stability issues and lack of direct relationship between farmer and customer. In a statement, the companies called the multiyear commitment "a win-win situation."

Dannon seeks other such relationships with dairy farmers to supply milk to its manufacturing plants in Minster, Ohio, and West Jordan, Utah.

Since the partnership 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.

“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 & supplier development.

Read "Dannon responds to the U.S. yogurt boom" in the June Dairy Foods and online.