American dairy producers lead the world
A country that can feed itself is a country that can defend itself. Algeria is rich in oil and gas, but food security and producing enough food in dry conditions remains a challenge. The African country grows a great deal of dryland crops like wheat and pulses, the edible seeds of legume plants, and even exports wheat. Last week, the country reached an agreement with a German company to construct the world’s largest integrated dairy and powdered milk production facility, a $3.5 billion project.
Norm Dinis of Empire Dairy in Wiggins, Colo., said it’s unlikely that the dairy producers in the Western U.S. will feel the change in exports once the facility is online. This is due, in part, to the glut on powder on the market. Milk powder, he said, isn’t as popular as it was 30 years ago, when it was an option for extra milk and was purchased by cheese companies and mixed when milk prices rose. Today, the demand for whole milk, whey, and protein leaves the powder in storage primarily skim powder, which is even less desired and tends to either be purchased by the federal government or used in feed rations for livestock.
Added protein is the current rallying cry from producers, with consumers preferring dairy creamers to seed oil-based creamers and whole milk to skim, and butter over oil. Protein products mixed into coffee and protein added into everything, including a fountain drink at the drive thru, are everywhere and it’s creating a renaissance for American dairy.
Colorado milks about the same number of cows the planned Algerian facility plans to. Colorado dairy produces about 6 million pounds of milk, and about 70 to 80% goes to cheese production at Leprino’s plants in Greeley and Fort Morgan. Fluid milk is bottled and some goes into products like cottage cheese. Any extra milk goes to powder, which is processed in Fort Morgan at a drying plant and is placed on the open market, typically at a $4 or $5 per hundredweight discount, and hopefully it finds a buyer.
Powdered milk may be a good answer for Algeria, if there is a high demand for powder due to refrigeration limitations, making a reconstituted milk a better option. The bottom line, though, is the first step in building a developing country is to build agriculture. That’s surely easier in an oil rich country that can bank roll a $3.5 billion facility, but agriculture remains the answer when security is the question.
Dinis said he has noted a trend in developing countries that have mineral resources, like Algeria, that feeding the country’s people is the first step. In countries like China and Russia, he said consumers demonstrate a high demand for a Western diet like the one they see touted on social media by American influencers. I can not explain the draw of a Kardashian. It’s an international mystery.
“They want what we’ve got,” he said. “Whatever the Kardashians or whoever is on Tik Tok is peddling, that’s what people see on social media and that’s what people want. The KFC, McDonald’s, Taco Bell – all this Western stuff that’s glamorous. That’s what the rest of the world wants and dairy is a big part of that.”
Americans, today, consume dairy in more than just a glass of milk but also in the specialty products like protein powders and shakes.
“Protein is so popular now, they’re adding protein to everything,” he said. “They’re adding protein to friggin’ Coca Cola. It makes no sense but it’s the new buzz word. Consumers heard it’s good and they want it added to everything.”
The cities that want to become the next Qatar or Dubai begin with agriculture and then move to a Western diet. Nothing compares, after all, to ice cream in the desert. Except perhaps a cheeseburger.
Dry and arid climates like Algeria are also prime areas to milk cows, just as Colorado, Utah, and Arizona are with their mild winters, dry summers, and low bacterial load. It’s notable that dairies like Dinis’ with open air barns and plenty of sunshine were built for cow comfort and to provide the conditions best for the cattle. Most new facilities, however, are closed buildings that could house hogs or hens or Holsteins – passersby can’t tell because everything us beneath a roof and walls. Where once every farmer had a milk cow, a few steers on feed, and a hog or two, most operations are more specialized. Additionally, the agriculture labor shortage – due in part to legislation – is crippling the ag industry. By moving milking parlors, feeding floors, and hen houses indoors into climate-controlled buildings is not only more efficient, but also preferable for employees and reduces labor requirements.
The Algerian dairy facility, in short, is little threat to the dairy producers in the Western U.S., but that’s no reason to not reach for milk and raise a glass to agriculture.
Rachel Gabel writes about agriculture and rural issues. She is assistant editor of The Fence Post Magazine, the region’s preeminent agriculture publication.
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