Current:Home > NewsWalmart will build a $350M milk plant in south Georgia as the retailer expands dairy supply control -EverVision Finance
Walmart will build a $350M milk plant in south Georgia as the retailer expands dairy supply control
View
Date:2025-04-13 05:25:47
VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — Walmart announced Wednesday it will build a new $350 million milk processing plant in south Georgia, hiring nearly 400 people.
Arkansas-based Walmart said the plant will provide milk to more than 750 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in Georgia and neighboring states.
Bruce Heckman, Walmart’s vice president of manufacturing, said in a statement that the company wants to do more to ensure its milk supply, saying the company wants to provide “high-quality milk for our customers that we can offer at the everyday low prices they rely on.”
Walmart has been building a series of milk processing plants nationwide over the last decade to control production of one of the most price-sensitive grocery commodities. The company previously bought milk from other dairy companies.
The retail giant is following the lead of other large grocers such as Kroger, which has long run its own dairies. But some critics have warned Walmart buys milk from only a handful of very large dairy farms, putting smaller farms under further pressure. Americans drank 22% less milk per person in 2021 than they did in 2011, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the plant would create new opportunities for farmers and strengthen Georgia agriculture. Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, like Kemp a Republican, said the plant would help keep farm income in Georgia.
Walmart plans to begin operations in Valdosta in late 2025. The company could qualify for $6 million in state income tax credits, at $3,000 per job over five years, as long as workers make at least $31,300 a year. The company could qualify for other incentives, including property tax breaks from Valdosta and Lowndes County.
Walmart says it has nearly 65,000 employees in Georgia, working at 213 stores, 10 distribution centers and three fulfillment centers.
Georgia Milk Producers, a dairy farmer trade group, reports Georgia currently has 89 dairy farms, with 92,000 dairy cows, more than 1,000 cows per farm. That’s much larger than the average dairy farm nationwide, which had 337 cows in 2022. Georgia produced 235 million gallons of milk in 2022. That’s more than any other southern state, but far less than national leaders like California, Wisconsin, New York, Texas and Idaho.
Georgia currently has two commercial milk processing plants in Atlanta and Lawrenceville.
veryGood! (36)
Related
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- Germany’s president has apologized for colonial-era killings in Tanzania over a century ago
- Henry Winkler on being ghosted by Paul McCartney, that 'baloney' John Travolta 'Grease' feud
- Germany’s president has apologized for colonial-era killings in Tanzania over a century ago
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Thousands of Bangladesh’s garment factory workers protest demanding better wages
- Mary Lou Retton issues statement following pneumonia hospitalization: I am forever grateful to you all!
- What 10 states are struggling the most to hire workers? See map.
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Taking an Uber in Phoenix? Your next ride may not have a driver
Ranking
- 'Most Whopper
- US magistrate cites intentional evidence destruction in recommending default judgment in jail suit
- 12 people killed, including baby, in plane crash in Brazilian Amazon
- A fire in the Jewish section of a cemetery in Austria’s capital causes damage but no injuries
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Steelers in precarious spot as problems finally catch up to them
- Semien’s 5 RBIs, Seager’s home run lead Rangers over Diamondbacks 11-7 for 3-1 World Series lead
- Diamondbacks never found a fourth starter. They finally paid price in World Series rout.
Recommendation
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
3-month-old found dead after generator emitted toxic gas inside New Orleans home, police say
Trial moved to late 2024 for Indiana man charged in killings of 2 girls slain during hiking trip
Jacob Lew, former treasury secretary to Obama, confirmed as US ambassador to Israel
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
UN forum says people of African descent still face discrimination and attacks, urges reparations
Prosecutors in Manny Ellis trial enter its 5th week by questioning his closest allies
California State University faculty vote to authorize strike over pay and class sizes