WASHINGTON, D.C. – American’s love for Chobani is not only good news for upstate dairy farmers, but even better news for New York’s stagnant economy.

More Greek-style yogurt businesses are setting up shop in the Empire State due to its proximity to the largest population centers in the country, not to mention that New York is the nation's third largest dairy state. Since Agro Farma Inc. launched number-one brand, Chobani in Columbus in 2007, Fage yogurt expanded its manufacturing into U.S. markets by acquiring a hub in Johnstown, and now PepsiCo is in the business, with plans to open a plant in Batavia this summer.

Because it takes roughly four gallons of milk to make one gallon of Greek-style yogurt, the New York Farm Bureau estimates that dairies will have to expand their output by 15 percent to meet the booming demand. In the Southern Tier, that means approximately 96,000 dairy cows will have to produce 260,000 million more pounds of milk per year.