Dairylea receives approval for DFA merger

Dairylea Cooperative, a regional milk cooperative located in Syracuse, New York, has received approv…

Dairylea Cooperative, a regional milk cooperative located in Syracuse, New York, has received approval from its members for the proposed merger with national milk marketing cooperative Dairy Farmers of America (DFA).

The merger, which becomes official on 1 April 2014, will not offect operations or milk procurement in the Northeast.

Under the merger, Dairylea's Northeast-based 1,200 members and 13,000 dairy farmer members of DFA from across the nation will be combined.

Dairylea Cooperative chief executive officer Greg Wickham said that the merger brings brands, plants and end products back to Dairylea members while maintaining the values, strategic goals and vision of Dairylea.

"Dairy farmers take pride in producing milk for consumer products and merging with DFA allows us to take our capital and assist with growing existing plants and brands to feed the world," added Wickham.

In addition, Dairylea and DFA have achieved efficient milk assembly, transportation and marketing, as well as joint management of Farm Services and membership operations in the Northeast, since the formation of DFA in 1998.