The healthy hydrating refreshment of cool, nutritious, and delicious milk will never go out of style. The dairy milk market was valued at $15.58 billion in 2023, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.4%, while overall unit sales slipped 3.1% to 4.49 billion units for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 13, 2023, data from Chicago-based market research firm Circana states.

A multitude of dairy products — yogurt, ice cream, kefir, butter, sour cream, and cheese — are 100% reliant on the calcium and vitamin D found in milk along with the farmers and dairy companies supplying this pivotal ingredient.

Dairy Foods visited Pineland Farms Dairy Co. in Bangor, Maine, for a behind-the-scenes look at the dairy’s expanded capabilities to customize variety and sizing of fluid milk and cream, ice cream mixes, and dairy blends.

Founded in 2004, Pineland Farms uses 100% fresh Maine milk from nearby farms — around 20 within a 50-mile radius of Bangor — to handcraft 3,200 to 6,400 pounds (two to four vats) of specialty cheeses a day. This includes its award-winning Smoked Gouda, Reserve Cheddar, and New Gloucester, which is a Cotsworld-style cheese with a savory aroma from a blend of onions and garlic. The New Gloucester cheese won Gold at the 2022 American Cheese Society Competition and first place at the 2023 SIAL Canada International Cheese Competition.

“We just won two medals at the 2023 American Cheese Society competition for our aged Cheddars, first place for our Reserve Cheddar, which is aged two years, and third place for a cheddar aged over two years, but less than four. Both Cheddars have a rich, bold, and sharp flavor,” proudly states Mark Whitney, president of Pineland Farms.

“Cheddar is traditionally the most difficult category, as so many extremely well-known and excellent cheeses usually sweep this class,” Whitney notes. “The fact that we can stand out and win speaks volumes about our quality and craftsmanship.”

In fact, a large trophy case at the contemporary dairy plant showcases numerous awards the small but mighty dairy with just 30 employees has earned since moving to the site of the former Grant’s Dairy, which was shuttered before Pineland Farms purchased the property for $1 million in February of 2017.

The move Northeast enabled the dairy to relocate its growing cheesemaking business and expand operations into milk, cream, ice cream mixes, and dairy blends. Further, Pineland Farms Dairy now handles milk processing on-site, experimented with manufacturing a drinkable yogurt, and dipped its toes into producing butter and sour cream. (To learn more, see Inside the Plant in this issue).

And just because the 70,000-square foot plant was formerly a dairy doesn’t mean it was move-in ready, notes Whitney, who oversaw the plant’s design and renovation over a year-and-a-half time period.

“We had to add to it and refurbish what was there. By the time we were done with everything, the total cost for renovation was $18 million,” the cheesemaker of 28 years explains. “Most dairy plants focus on milk or cheese, but we now have the capacity and opportunity to manufacture both. We’ve really had to develop our balance as far as utilizing the milk on which products.

“When we started the fluid side of the plant in 2019, within a matter of months, we saw a 100% increase on the amount of milk we were bringing in. I think that shows the need for processing capacity in this state, that we’ve been able to grow that quickly,” he continues. “It’s also a testament to the team we put together and the equipment that we added to propel our growth. On the cheese side, we process about 10 million pounds of milk annually and about 20 million pounds on the fluid side. That’s anywhere from four to 12 loads a week. If we wanted to build this company to max capacity, we could process 10 loads of milk a day.”

In 2021, Pineland Farms was 100% cheese as the fluid milk side was launching. “Today, the fluid side is equal to our cheese capacity,” he relays. “Our goal is to still grow and use more of Maine’s milk and support more of Maine farmers. We have a lot of capacity and could double our output on the cheese and fluid side of things, without adding any new equipment.”

Pioneering farm to plate 

The newly refurbished plant with the appropriate address of 1 Milk Street was not the original home of Pineland Farms Dairy. That distinction is about 120 miles southwest at 15 Farm View Drive on a historic 5,000-acre working farm, business campus, and educational/recreational facility in the rolling hills of New Gloucester, Maine — the original home of a 1908 state-owned school/mental asylum/orphanage.

“All of the buildings here [in New Gloucester] were part of a state mental institution called Maine School for the Feeble Minded,” Whitney tells Dairy Foods during a campus tour. “The building that we’re in now, The Market, [which sells locally sourced produce, meats, cheeses, and baked goods, as well as beer, wine, and gifts from Maine businesses] was the laundry room for the entire complex. At one point there were over 2,000 residents.

“During the Great Depression, not everyone could afford to take care of their family, so Pineland became an orphanage and there was a school that provide elementary level academic training. Because now there were people at Pineland without disabilities, they decided to start two farms — for produce and for dairy, specifically to make cheese,” he continues. “The goal was to provide job skills and teach self-sufficiency with residents working on one of the farms, in the kitchen, the laundry or the hospital. In the late 1980s, … the state closed everything down and boarded up the buildings.”

That was until the Libra Foundation, established by Elizabeth Noyce in 1989 with a focus on “catalytic philanthropy,” stepped in with grandiose plans to transform the property into a business park and farm/educational venue designed to bolster Maine’s economy and enhance the quality of life for Maine residents.

“They found that the best way to do that is to invest in businesses and help them grow. You can feed someone for a day, but if we can provide someone with a job, then they can feed themselves,” Whitney explains. “The Libra Foundation has done that, they’ve really pioneered the farm to plate mission that’s so popular now.”

The nonprofit, Portland-based Libra Foundation is under the leadership of Jere Michelson, president, chief operating office and chief financial officer, who has been with the foundation for 22 years.

Michelson explains the uniqueness of the private charitable trust. “We combine a social mission with public good and mix it with enterprise and philanthropy. Our founder, Mrs. Noyce, came to Maine after a bad divorce, and Maine healed her, so she wanted to give back to the people of Maine. The charter of the trust does that. We also have regular investments and program-related investments all centered on social good. The ripple effect we’re having from an economic standpoint is enormous.”

To date, Pineland Center’s business park has 50 for-profit, nonprofit and educational businesses with around 1,000 employees. The picturesque property also is a go-to destination for education and recreation with 30 kilometers of professionally designed, well-kept trails for biking, walking, trail running, Nordic skiing and snowshoeing. There’s also disc golf, tennis courts, ice skating and sledding along with quaint Guest Houses, which can accommodate anywhere from two to 20 guests, he adds.

These facts aside, how did Whitney and Michelson join forces in cheesemaking? They credit the 406-mile-long Connecticut River, the longest river in the New England region.

Whitney explains that he was working as a cheesemaker on a small farm in New Hampshire, [Vt.], and that he’d often eat lunch by the river. “One day, a bunch of rowers pulled up, found out that I made cheese for a living and ended up writing an article for Triple A magazine on their journey down the river,” he explains. “The article inexplicably made its way to Jere, who called me and said he was thinking about adding cheese to dairy farm operations. He came to visit, and it all started here at the end of 2003.”

Thus, in 2004, the original, 12,000-square-foot Pineland Farms Creamery opened with Whitney in charge of operations. The demonstration farmstead cheesemaking facility was enclosed in glass so that the public could see the cheesemaking process and connect farms to food.  In the opening year, cheese production was just 100,000 pounds and only a few SKUs including our famous fresh curds (Italy world award for Ranch flavor)  with milk being received from only from Valley Farm, located on the New Gloucester campus.

Within two years, the creamery had doubled its capacity and nearby farms were supplying milk to keep up with increased volume. As the cheese business grew, additional farms were added.   

The Pineland Farms brand grew to include Pineland Farms Natural Meats, which works exclusively with 200 family farms in the Eastern part of the United States who raise beef cattle with no antibiotics or added growth hormones; and Pineland Farms Potato Co., built in 1997, transformed thousands of acres of potatoes grown in Aroostook County from commodity to refrigerated, ready-to-cook products. (The potato business, acquired by Bob Evans in 2017, subsequently was sold to Post a year later).

Furthering growth of fluid products

Although the aforementioned potato company used to be under the Pineland Farms Food Group umbrella, fortunately the company now utilizes 90% of Pineland’s fluid milk for their custom flavored mashed potato blends, says Larry Wintle, Pineland Farms’ operations/production manager and second Master Cheesemaker.

“In 2019, our fluid product production was zero,” Wintle relays. Yet even supply chain issues suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t stop the 2020 launch of Pineland’s new fluid milk blends.

“We had supply, we had labor and we had access to all the milk,” the Maine native relays. “The potato company in Mars Hill, Maine, is the primary outlet for our fluid blends.”

Additionally, on the fluid milk side, Pineland Farms produces ice cream mixes for three dairy companies, while the fluid business of dairy blends, cream, whole milk, skim milk and buttermilk is distributed to two food companies.

Wintle and Whitney both point to diversification as one of the main reasons Pineland Farms Dairy is thriving in the competitive dairy industry. Pineland Farms prides itself on being a resource for producing dairy and custom blended dairy products for use as value-added ingredients in brands’ finished products, from soups and mashed potatoes to butter, and ice cream mixes.

“Essentially, we run two different operations. We’re a co-manufacturer and we produce cheese recipes for other companies,” Whitney notes. “We have the capacity to help smaller companies grow, and we help larger companies with some of their smaller lines.”

Cheesemaking continues to be a source of innovation and pride for the SQF-certified dairy, which undergoes stringent taste testing and grading to ensure flavor and texture for its naturally aged, award-winning cheese.

Available at multiple retailers throughout the New England area with some direct-to-consumer selling, Pineland Farms produces 30 SKUs of branded cheese products — including Cheddars, Swiss, Jacks, Fetas, and Curds — available in a variety of flavors and cuts, ranging from 4-ounce tubs for its Feta Crumbles, to 7-ounce bars for its white Cheddar, aged Sharp Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Reserve Cheddars and three varieties of Jacks, Monterey, Pepper and Colby. Its curds, available in Cheddar, Ranch, Buffalo, Pizza and Garlic Dill, its newest flavor, are available in 6-ounce tubs.

To help meet foodservice customers’ needs on the bulk fluid side, Pineland has expanded capabilities to customize variety and sizing such as 5-gallon bag-in-box (BIB), 300-gallon totes and tankers. Foodservice distributors and restaurant suppliers may also request Pineland cheese in 5-pound blocks or bags or 40-pound blocks.  

Celebrating Maine 

Packaging also showcases the working-class ideals of the Pine Tree State with “Maine Cows. Maine Milk. Maine Cheese” on every product, which also markets the cheese’s natural goodness and the fact that the cheese contains no antibiotics or artificial growth hormones.

“Maine has always been known as an agricultural state. A lot of it is local, and we know all the family farms. The team, which includes eight people on the fluid side, 10 employees on the cheese side, four in the cut and wrap room, along with a warehouse and office team, consistently thinks about new products,” says Whitney, who credits a talented Pineland Farms’ team for growing the company’s revenue by 207% in the past 5 years.

“Another special thing about us is that new products don’t always come from the management team,” Whitney states. “Our new Southwest Cheddar was developed by one of our cheesemakers, a former chef. He took some of our Cheddar and added some green chiles and red pepper flakes, pressed it, and aged it out. It’s got some spicy heat and adds to our old-world character and depth of flavor.”

The dairy also is preparing to launch a line of kosher cheese, leaning on the expertise of a rabbi to develop the flavors.

Whitney also celebrates the stewardship of the land and the hundreds of black-and-white Holstein dairy cows widely recognized for producing the highest quality milk for the company’s ability to manufacture diverse dairy products and support dairy farmers who are the lifeblood of Pineland’s operations.

“The pride that our farmers have in their farms carries though to Pineland Farms, and hopefully you’ve seen that reflected in our plant operations,” Whitney states. “The pride that our employees have for the products they produce.

“We have a vision for growth, and it’s bigger than just making cheese or blends,” he concludes. “It comes down to resilience and supporting our family farmers. We can’t make great milk any better, and that enables us to make great USA-made products out of great Maine milk.”