Land O'Lakes and Dairyman's Move Toward Consolidation

N/A of the <%=company%> and Dairyman's Cooperative Creamery Assn. boards of directors have approved a plan to consolidate the two organizations. Members of both groups still need to approve the proposal.

The two cooperatives have been business partners since 1983 when Dairyman's began producing butter for Land O'Lakes at its processing facility in Tulare, CA.

"This is an exciting opportunity to build an even stronger nationwide organization committed to creating value-added markets for members and providing maximum returns to members," said Jack Gherty, president and CEO of Land O'Lakes.

Jack Prince, president of Dairyman's, said, "We have carefully considered ways by which we might provide greater, long-term value for our members through expanded product manufacturing and creation of a branded, value-added market for our milk. Our board and management strongly believe this merger will help us achieve those goals."

Land O'Lakes, headquartered in Arden Hills, MN, is a food and agricultural cooperative owned by farmers and ranchers in 27 states. It markets branded dairy products across the United States.

Dairyman's, based in Tulare, CA, is a dairy-processing cooperative and operates the largest single location dairy processing facility in the nation.

Edited by Pam Ahlberg