Strengthening dairy operations through investment and innovation

Minnesota-based First District Association is a dairy cooperative serving 560 producer- members and converting millions of pounds of milk each day into cheese and whey products for domestic and export markets. Operating a single, highly efficient facility, the cooperative processes approximately 7.5 million pounds of milk daily and produces roughly 800,000 pounds of cheese. As innovation across the dairy industry accelerates, FDA continues to invest in modernization and technology to improve efficiency, expand product capabilities and support multigenerational dairy farms. CoBank has been a key financial partner in this work – helping the cooperative leverage the Farm Credit System to create a syndicate of lenders – accelerating growth, fueling innovation and supporting long- term stability for its producers.