NEWARK, Ohio – In some good news for Ohio’s dairy industry, the Kroger Co. announced a 35,000-square-foot expansion at Tamarack Farms Dairy in Licking County.

The expansion will allow the company to include a state-of-the-art aseptic (shelf-stable) milk line capable of manufacturing various sizes of half-and-half, heavy whipping cream, coffee creamers and more. The aseptic milk line will be the grocer’s first in the Midwest, the company said.

Kroger is a long-time owner of the Tamarack Farms Dairy, a traditional fluid milk plant, said Tim Derickson, JobsOhio senior managing director of food and agribusiness. Derickson was involved in the effort to bring the expansion to Ohio.

“All of the raw milk that goes into that plant is from Ohio dairy farmers,” Derickson said. “With the transition to an aseptic processing plant, they will increase their intake by about 30 percent. Aseptic is an extremely high heat means of processing milk that eliminates almost 100 percent of the bacteria that spoils milk. The typical life span of a gallon of milk, if it is kept cold, is probably about two or three weeks, whereas an aseptic processed gallon of milk will last longer than that, and it can be kept in your pantry. So, it is a totally different market for dairy farmers in that it is an extended shelf-life product.”

Scott Higgins, CEO of the American Dairy Association Mideast and the Ohio Dairy Producers Association. said Ohio’s dairy industry is pleased about the expansion of operations at the Tamarack plant.

“We need innovation in the dairy industry; innovative new products to meet new consumer demand is a part of our future,” Higgins said. “We’re excited that Kroger is a willing and capable partner who wants to do more in this area. Less than 2 percent of the milk in the United States is packaged in shelf-stable containers, an offering the consumer might choose more frequently than alternative products in the markeplace.”

Dairy Farmers of America, a farmer-owned cooperative that supplies milk to the Tamarack plant, also welcomed the expansion.

“We are excited that Kroger is investing in this plant and expanding their processing capacity by adding the aseptic line. We join the rest of Ohio’s dairy industry in celebrating any expansion that increases milk demand,” said Heather McCann, director of public affairs for the organization.

The Tamarack facility, built in 1978, sits on 20 acres and currently employs 145 people. It is the largest fluid dairy in the state and supports about 160 stores in Ohio and West Virginia, according to Kroger.

Many details are still being finalized. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start around March 2023. After that, Kroger plans to begin running about 90 million pounds of product on this new line each year, said Amy McCormick, corporate affairs manager for Kroger.

The Tamarack facility was one of three sites Kroger considered for the project, along with Winchester, Ky., and Murfreesboro, Tenn.

“We were fortunate to be able to incentivize them to bring this investment here to Ohio,” Derickson said. “It was very competitive.”

Added Higgins: ‘I am thrilled that they selected Ohio. That gives Ohio’s dairy industry and Ohio’s dairy farmers a new market to produce milk.”