California Dairies Breaks Ground on 220,000-Square-Foot Milk Processing Facility

California Dairies has broken ground on a 220,000-square-foot milk processing facility in Kern County, California, near Bakersfield. The plant will be built on 30 acres of land and feature ultra-high temperature (UHT) and extended shelf-life (ESL) milk processing. The facility is expected to create approximately 100 new jobs when fully operational in 2023. 

CDI, the largest dairy farmer-owned cooperative in California and the second largest in the United States, is building this state-of-the-art milk processing facility under the name Valley Natural Beverages. The project is being built in northern Kern County, a region with significant milk production but no local processing facilities. Not only will this investment significantly reduce the transportation distances of milk produced in Kern County, it will also further demonstrate CDI’s commitment to sustainable solutions by incorporating renewable energy sources and waste conservation as key priorities in the facility and operational design.