Editor’s Note: This is the second in a three-part series describing a tour of Chenango County agriculture that was offered this month to New York State’s elected officials. The bus stops highlighted the county’s unique ag businesses, but also pointed to the governmental regulations that challenge them.

Chenango County forked over much more than a bail of hay last week to New York State officials who toured a unique sampling of three enterprises that make up the local agricultural industry.
After first pitching an inside look at the workings of an environmentally sound, resource conscious and successful farm – the Tumilowicz Dairy in Norwich – the tour bus proceeded to an end user that is creating a massive, new market for milk – Agro Farma Inc.
Approximately 35 spectators filed into a conference room at the former Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals plant at Woods Corners in Norwich to learn how the parent corporation of the nation’s number one Greek-style yogurt, Chobani, has grown from a start-up, five-employee business back in 2005 to employing nearly 400 today.
With corporate headquarters in Norwich and its manufacturing facility in the former Kraft plant in nearby South Edmeston (in the Town of Columbus), Agro Farma has taken the entire yogurt industry by storm. Last week’s opening of Champions Field, which Agro Farma built for the Village of New Berlin, on top of announcements of an acquisition in Australia and a $90 million expansion planned at the South Edmeston plant made for an especially timely trip.
Agro Farma has grown by more than 250 percent over the past year. The plant is receiving upwards of 25 million pounds of milk per week, making it the country’s largest Class II milk processing facility. And talking about a hiring mode! With the completed expansion, which could be by the end of 2012, there may be anywhere from 675 up to 1,000 employees on board.
When peppered with questions about the company’s demand for milk, Environmental Health and Safety Director Dave Sheldon said he’s learned not to make solid predictions for the future.
“We don’t know when the market is going to level off,” he said.
Agro Farma can be credited with single-handedly increasing the demand for dairy throughout the Northeast. Sheldon estimated the company could grow by another 50 percent by year’s end, with full capacity at 80 tanker trucks of milk delivered daily. Already the South Edmeston plant is pulling in supplies from New York, Vermont and Massachusetts farms. Suppliers from Pennsylvania and Virginia could be next.
The demand for dairy – and yogurt – is growing internationally as well. With production of the Chobani brand at the new wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia, Sheldon said New Zealand would be ramping up its production to serve them.
“If demand grows in other parts of the world like this, it’s going to increase demand for our milk and help our farmers,” Sheldon said. The United States currently exports between 12 to 14 percent of the world’s milk.

Milk distribution hurdles
Because of the perishable nature of milk, distribution is one of the biggest hurdles that small and mid-scale agricultural producers in Central New York face. Existing systems generally cater to larger farms, which can supply steady streams of goods at lower prices.
Agro Farma is currently under contract with the northeast’s Dairy Marketing Services to supply its Class II, preservative-free milk, however Sheldon said different cooperatives and distribution ideas are on the table.
The company itself “doesn’t want to become a trucking company,” he said.
The executive suggested that the region’s farmers in contract with DMS might want to consider alternatives, and possibly create their own distribution system.
New York State Assemblyman Pete Lopez asked whether the road infrastructure at the plant’s Rt. 8 location is enough to support the increased trucking activity. Sheldon said state transportation department engineers have confirmed that the road system was suitable for the traffic.
As for hiring, the company is currently drawing employees from a 50 to 60 mile radius to South Edmeston and Norwich. Sheldon said it has been difficult to find workers in the region who are educated, display a strong work ethic and have the willingness to learn.

Environmental Health and Safety Plans
Agro Farma’s founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, dreams of creating a 100 percent self-sufficient plant by using whey, a byproduct of the yogurt making process, to produce the energy needed to power the facility. The plant’s waste water treatment facility is being upgraded with the installation of methane bio-reactor technology. Eventually, they would like to add an anaerobic digester using whey to create electricity on site.
“We have plans to use the whey in a digester and to also offer whey to farms, but with the current exponential rate of growth, have we got everything perfect yet? No,” said Sheldon.
Currently, about 20 to 30 farms are taking whey from Agro Farma to spread on their fields as fertilizer and/or use as protein in feed, he said.
Chenango County Farm Bureau President Bradd Vickers said the company would ultimately create a better balance in the environment with a digester and also help displace farmer’s costs for feed.
“The company’s goal represents a wonderful corporate model,” Assemblyman Peter Lopez said.
A bevy of agencies hosted the event, including Cornell Cooperative Extension, Chenango County Farm Bureau, Commerce Chenango, the Chenango County Planning and Development Department and Chenango County Soil and Water Conservation District. Numerous county supervisors made up the 34 in attendance. State officials on hand were: New York State Assembly members Donna Lupardo (D-126th Dist.) and Peter Lopez (R-127th Dist.) and staff representatives from the offices of Assemblyman William Magee and Richard Hanna and Senators James Seward (R-51st Dist.) and Thomas Libous (R-52nd Dist.)