Clover Sonoma’s four brand-new 50,000-gallon stainless steel milk silos hover over the landscape in Petaluma, Calif. Before entering the dairy plant, one can get a window – literally – into the operation.

Tradition and innovation co-exist comfortably at Clover Sonoma dairy, located in the verdant rolling hills of Sonoma County, California, an area better known for wine than milk.

Tetra Pak, a supplier of aseptic packaging and processing equipment, advises dairy and nondairy beverage processors on formulas, formats and manufacturing procedures. Dairy Foods visited the Texas operation.

Tetra Pak works with beverage processors to create new products or improve upon existing packaging or beverage formulations. Then they test those concepts in the company’s pilot plant in Denton, Texas.

If you manufacture branded dairy foods, then you should consider taking on private label products if you have the capacity. By manufacturing foods and beverages for other companies, dairy plants can keep their production lines moving.

Aurora Organic Dairy has reduced its shuttling of products to and from cold storage by 90% by opening a new energy-efficient plant in Platteville, Colo.

Land O' Lakes Inc. has worked to reduce its environmental footprint through resource conservation, transportation, logistics and manufacturing efficiencies, and renewable energy on the farm, according to the company's 2014 Corporate Responsibility report.

Dairy processors reduce their costs and environmental footprints in a number of ways. Hilmar Cheese received a U.S. Dairy Sustainability Award for its efforts. Land O’Lakes and Aurora Organic have their own approaches.