The Dairy Farmers of America Inc. are idling operations at its Lovington, N.M. cheese plant, which has been open since 1995.
Production at the plant, which has been jointly owned and operated by DFA and the Greater Southwest Agency, will be transferred to other DFA plants. DFA’s nearest southwestern plants are in El Paso and Schulenburg, Texas. The Lovington plant produces 40 million pounds of 40-pound block cheddar cheese.
Officials with DFA said the announcement comes after years of repeated efforts to stimulate successful operations, including periodic adjustments to the production schedule and an expansion to help the facility accommodate more volume. But the plant has “failed to achieve a financially viable status,” they said in a news release. As a result of the shutdown, 60 employees will be terminated.
Last October, Glanbia Nutritionals and a partner opened Southwest Cheese, a 340,000-square-foot cheese production plant in Clovis, which is about 80 miles north of Lovington. The plant produces 40- and 640-pound blocks of Cheddar, Monterey, Jack, Colby and Pepper Jack cheeses. Production from the plant makes Glanbia the No. 1 U.S. producer of American-style cheddar cheese. The milk is supplied from the Greater Southwest Agency, coordinating supplies from the Dairy Farmers of America, Select Milk Producers Inc., LoneStar Milk Producers and Zia Milk Producers.