Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), Kansas City, Kan., announced plans to acquire Agropur’s St. Paul, Minn., facility.

This acquisition will expand the farmer-owned cooperative’s extended shelf life capabilities and introduce aseptic processing into its business portfolio.

“This acquisition offers an opportunity to grow our customer base while strengthening our processing capabilities for existing customers and diversifies our product portfolio,” says Pat Panko, senior vice president and COO of DFA’s fluid milk and ice cream division.

“DFA is a tremendous organization with strong cultural and business ideations that marry well with those of Agropur’s cooperative roots,” adds Doug Simon, president of Agropur Inc., Canada. “Our focus has been and will always be meeting the needs of our customers and being strategic in our investments toward complementary growth areas. This transaction is well aligned with long-term strategic plans for both parties. ”

The facility manufactures a variety of fresh, extended shelf life and aseptic dairy products for grocery store chains and organic milk brands. Employees will retain their current positions. In addition, the existing management team will continue to manage all day-to-day operations, including customer relationships, milk procurement and production.