“We have the best cows in the country here in Michigan and we should be proud of that,” Snyder said, repeating a theme mentioned in his 2017 State of State.
Proliant Dairy is also investing $85 million in an adjoining facility, said to be the largest whey permeate drying plant in the world, and which will employ 30 to 38 workers. Construction of both facilities is expected to begin in September and be completed by December 2020.
Farm Bureau President Carl Bednarski said that 20 percent of the milk produced in the state would be processed through the new facility. Proliant Vice President Mark Peterson said the plants would support 100,000 cows in Michigan.
So cow productivity actually was on topic today.
“I was so proud a couple of years ago, in the State of the State, I gave a shout out to Michigan cows,” Snyder told the crowd. “I don’t know if you recall that or not. We have the second most productive cows in the entire nation, second only to Colorado and they are not even close in terms of number of cows.”