Farmer's cottage cheese in a traditional clay bowl, next to a wooden spoon, a dark wooden background.

Upstate Niagara Cooperative Proposes $150 Million Expansion of Dairy Plant

July 30, 2024

The dairy coop’s plant would more than double in size and capacity, looking to capitalize on the growing demand for cottage cheese and Greek yogurt.

Andy Hanacek

Upstate Niagara Cooperative Inc. is planning to expand its West Seneca, N.Y., processing facility with a $150 million investment that will more than double the size of the facility and significantly increase its production capacity, according to local news reports.

The proposal put forth by the cooperative of 260 upstate New York dairy farmers would add 250,000 sq. ft. to the existing 222,851-sq.-ft. dairy plant, as well as about 130 employees once finished. The expansion would start this fall if tax breaks and incentives requested are approved in August with the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, the news report noted.

The new portion of the facility would add storage for finished product and would feature more than 200,000 sq. ft. of new processing space that would focus on milk, yogurt, sour cream and cottage cheese production, with the company’s CEO telling another news outlet that the demand for cottage cheese and Greek yogurt has been the catalyst for this project.

Expected completion date for the project would be late 2026, according to the reports.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.