February 4,2014
The De Jong family – Arie and Maartge and their 10 children relocated from the Netherlands in 1949 settling in San Diego County,launching Hollandia Dairy – what has become a dairy empire that started with few possessions, requiring plenty of family unity and grit.
Today Visalia dairyman Arie De Jong,son of the founder, says family dairies are spread across 8 states with cow numbers on the order of 250,000. Arie,like most of the De Jong clan in these parts, came to the Central Valley starting in the 1960s – an influx that spawned several decades of dairy expansion here – helping to make Tulare County the highest milk producing county in the USA.
Now the extended family appears ready to take the next step deciding it is time manufacture consumer products from all that milk they make every day. Instead of selling it to the state’s big cheese makers who reap all the rewards “we decided instead of fighting them – we will join them” says Johnny Gailey, whose mom was a De Jong.
“We are looking at making cheese in Visalia” confirms Gailey. “We don’t know yet what size plant we will build but production would probably be 2 to 3 years off.” Gailey confirms the family partners have 110 acres in escrow in the Visalia Industrial Park on Plaza Drive – right across from the big 55 acre California Dairies Inc (CDI) plant. He says escrow is scheduled to close in March.
Lots of milk is produced near Visalia but no one actually makes cheese in the city.There is plenty coming out of Tulare and indications there will be more still with the likelihood of a new 300,000sf plant CaliCheese, being built in town. The De Jongs actually process milk in consumer size containers (under the Hollandia name) in San Diego County, something Gailey says they will probably not do in Visalia. A Hanford dairy – the Rosa Bros are now bottling milk in Tulare – following the model of vertical integration – from farm to your kitchen table.
Another son of the founder – Peter De Jong of Hanford would be a partner in the plant he confirms and says he does not know how many of the De Jong dairy farms would participate “We probably have 25 family diaries around here” with perhaps 50,000 cows.
Peter says like his parents – todays De Jongs live and breath dairying.”When we all get together…. all we talk about is cows” he laughs. Gailey adds the extended family just “on my mom’s side includes 54 first cousins.”
Tossed Salad
Anyone who pays attention to Visalia recognizes what a “tossed salad” of ethnic groups from all parts of the globe who have gathered here and the Dutch heritage community is a proud one. Here they have founded their own church in 1965, and Central Valley Christian School, their own retirement village complete with windmill and a fearsome high school girls volleyball team that seems to tear up the court year after year.
The family dairies are mostly large, efficiently run and successful. But dairy operators,even the best,have had a number of years of tough going in the Central Valley – unprofitable for most the 2009 – 2013 years until later last year. Nearly 400 California milk producers went out of business in the past five years. The hard times have prompted producer groups like Western United Dairymen to try to reform how they get paid under a state formula. Cheese makers in other states pay more for milk they need than do California’s big cheese industry.
About 40% of all milk produced in the state is made into cheese. Dairymen say they are shortchanged in California compared to other states and it adds up to millions of dollars every year.
Whey Issue
Many local dairymen blame the state CDFA for their low compensation. CDFA says they try to balance the needs of dairymen and the financial health of cheese makers in the state convinced that our high cost of doing business here will chase them out of state. Cheese makers like Marquez Bros in Hanford have argued that the cost of processing whey, a byproduct of cheese making, is high and requires a major investment in new technology.
But speaking at a 2012 CDFA hearing Arie De Jong who has the Milky Way Dairy north of Visalia argued that utilizing the whey was a part of doing business He noted that that cheese makers made money in 2011 while most dairymen lost money and likewise in 2012. He pointed out that while some cheese makers don’t want to handle the whey – ”that’s a part of the job.” De Jong, suggesting a comparison to his own plight ,adding ” I own a dairy and I only want to milk cows.I don’t want to scrape and haul manure all day.”
California producers continue to lobby CDFA and this week Western United Dairymen president Tom Barcellos says there is still some hope a compromise can be worked out.
But the De Jong family appears ready to go into the business themselves to insure they survive.
It would seem like a good time to make cheese. The market price this week is at an all time record as both domestic and export markets for cheese are up. Peter De Jong notes” exports of dairy products are now 17% of milk volume compared to just 6% five years ago.” He also notes that whey these days is in high demand in all those power bars we gobble up, for example.
“It helps to make up for all those years of losses” adds Peter.
Big Parcel
What will this all mean for Visalia? If the sale is completed 110 acres is a huge parcel for one cheese plant,even a large one. There is probably room for a dairy processors industrial park. Unlike powder and butter plants – cheese making is more labor intensive and should mean some good jobs for locals. With more expansion from CDI expected to help feed Chinese babies, as well as other dairy-related companies in expansion mode, to borrow a phrase, Milk is Going “To Do Visalia Good.”