Craigs Station VenturesFarm Partner in WNY Enterprise LLC

d/b/a Craigs Station Creamery

2014 Ag Economic Outlook ConferenceCornell University – Ithaca, NY

Craigs Station Ventures• Family owned and operated dairy farms located in the western New York milkshed

• Producing high quality raw milk products

• More than 13,000 cows housed on dairies located within 25 miles of the plant

• Producing approximately 110,000 gallons of milk/day for delivery to local processors

Craigs Station Ventures

1) Noblehurst Farms, York 2) Lawnel Farms, York 3) Mulligan Farm, Avon

4) Coyne Farms, Avon 5) Synergy, Wyoming 6) Southview Farm, Castile

7) Baker Brook Dairy, Attica 8) McCormick’s Dairy, Bliss

Craigs Station Ventures

Lawnel Farms, York

Mulligan Farm, Avon Coyne Farms, Avon

Noblehurst Farms, York

1,650 cows 1,500 cows; two sites

1,000 cows1,200 cows

Craigs Station Ventures

Southview Farm, Castile

Baker Brook Dairy, Attica McCormick’s Dairy, Bliss

Synergy, Wyoming

2,100 cows 2,000 cows, two sites

2,300 cows1,600 cows

Craigs Station Ventures

• Craigs Station was a stop on the DL&W (Delaware, Lackawanna and Western) railroad. It was located about a mile to the east of the plant site.

• Dairy farmers used to bring milk and cream in 10 gallon cans to stations like this one for collection. The train would transport those cans to a creamery for bottling and shipment to New York City, Boston, and other Northeast cities.

WNYE/CSC Joint Venture

• Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Craigs Station Ventures (CSV) formed JV in mid-2013– DFA is nation’s largest dairy cooperative– CSV comprised of eight 1000+ cow dairy farms

located in the heart of western NY milkshed• Broke ground in mid-September 2013 on cold

milk separation facility – Commissioned early October 2014– Operational on October 17, 2014

View from Above

Expanded View from Above

First load saleable milk – 10/17/14

First load saleable milk – 10/17/14

More pictures from the first day

More pictures from the first day

More pictures from the first day

Products

• It all starts with consistent, high quality farm milk– Grade A rBST-free

• Skim milk / Standardized milk• 40% butterfat heat-treated cream • Cold bowl separated– Reduced protein denaturing (standardized/skim)– Enhanced cream functionality

• Kosher certified• Product fortification available (i.e. Vitamin D)

Attributes

• Locally produced New York milk– All eight farms located within 25 miles of

WNYE/CSC• Traceability back to these farms• DFA Gold-standard-plus production• WNYE powered by on-farm green energy• Reduced carbon footprint– Low hauling miles, green energy, modern/efficient

milk production and processing

Sustainability• Members committed to sustainable, efficient farming practices

– One of the CSV member farms has largest on-farm digester in New York state

Synergy Biogas1.4 MW Bigadan A/S owned and

operated on-farm co-digestion plantAlso processes local dairy plant

effluent (whey)Future expansion to 2.0 MW

Noblehurst Green Energy440 kw on-farm co-digestion plant

Arranged to accommodate 2nd digester and doubling of energy

output

• Noblehurst operates anaerobic digester next to milk plant that:– Recycles facility’s waste effluent– Provides green energy to facility– Reduces plant’s carbon footprint

Operational Efficiencies

• Tanker washing capability at WNYE/CSC• Milk scheduling advantages– 100% loads at 60,000+ lbs milk per load

• Quality checked loads before shipment• Reduced shrinkage at buyer’s plant

Relationship

• Farm-direct relationship with the added protection of a $12 billion dairy cooperative– Periodic meetings with WNYE/CSC plant management

and CSV farmer representatives– Relationship with DFA, America’s leading dairy

cooperative• Key New York state regulatory relationships• Global business connections• Price risk management opportunities

– Improved price predictability– Reduced price volatility– Better performance to budgets

Ingredients–Cheese

Ingredients–Protein

Contract Manufacturing

Consumer Brands

Fluid Milk and Ice Cream

Turlock, Calif.

Turlock, Calif. Beaver,

UtahBeaver,

Utah

West Middlesex, Pa.

West Middlesex, Pa.

New Wilmington, Pa.

New Wilmington, Pa.

Hughson, Calif.

Hughson, Calif.

Fort Morgan, Colo.

Fort Morgan, Colo.

Schulenburg, Texas

Schulenburg, Texas

Springfield, Mo.

Springfield, Mo.

Cabool, Mo.

Cabool, Mo.

Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Ventura, Calif.

Ventura, Calif. Winnsboro,

TexasWinnsboro,

Texas

Goshen, Ind.

Goshen, Ind.

Reading, Pa.

Reading, Pa.

St. Albans, Vt.*

St. Albans, Vt.*

Houston, TexasHouston, Texas

Cedarburg, Wis.

Cedarburg, Wis.

Zumbrota, Minn.

Zumbrota, Minn.Fargo, N.D.Fargo, N.D.

Farmington, Minn.

Farmington, Minn.

Winthrop, Minn.

Winthrop, Minn.

Minneapolis, Minn.Minneapolis, Minn.

Portales, N.M.Portales, N.M.

Fallon, Nev.Fallon, Nev.

New Britain, Conn.

New Britain, Conn.

Rochester, Minn.

Rochester, Minn.

Frederick, Md.

Cass City, Mich.

Adrian, Mich.

Adrian, Mich.

Middlebury Center, Pa.

Middlebury Center, Pa.

Linwood, N.Y.

Plymouth, Wis.

Plymouth, Wis.

Portland, MainePortland, Maine

33 DFA Affiliated Plants Nationwide

WNYE/CSC Joint Venture

• Why? (cooperative perspective)– Increasing demand for high quality milk

components in the Northeastern U.S. dairy market– Consumers/retailers calling for more traceability

and sustainability from their suppliers• In dairy, much of this falls back to the farm level

– DFA customers focusing more on marketing and product development and less on manufacturing• This JV offers those customers a supply chain partner

WNYE/CSC Joint Venture

• Why? (farmer perspective)– Expand local dairy marketing opportunities– Diversify direct investments beyond the farm– Provide a different opportunity to work with like-

minded producers– Reduce the cost of hauling farm milk to market– Connect food, cows, milk, farmers and family

farms with consumers’ families

Industry Response

• We understand that some say this project is:– Non-traditional, out-of-the-box, or even

risky• Others will say this is:

– Disruptive to orderly milk marketing

So was this!

Next Steps

• Northeast Dairy Market Development– Catalyze add’l dairy processing investments

(particularly small to medium sized operations) using the milk supplies from this facility

• Harnessing value for milk/plant attributes• Additional investment– Niche opportunities within existing footprint– Phase II expansion