Northwest’s biggest milk processing plant is rising on the Tri-Cities skyline

The massive dairy processing plant taking shape off Highway 395 in Pasco is about 60% finished and on track to begin operating by the middle of next year.

Darigold Inc. broke ground on the $600 million, state-of-the-art processing plant in September 2022 in the Port of Pasco’s Reimann Industrial Center.

Two years later, company officials are trumpeting the transition from construction to operations, even if the actual date remains deliberately vague.

“Soon, you will see activity shift from construction trucks to milk tankers!” Allan Huttema, president and CEO of Darigold, wrote in a project update in August.

Darigold is the Seattle-based processing and marketing arm of the Northwest Dairy Association, a cooperative representing 300 family-owned dairies in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

It sells milk, creams, cheeses, butter, yogurt, ice cream, sour cream, cottage cheese and other dairy products domestically and in foreign markets, notably Mexico and China.

Milk powder and butter

Darigold will turn milk into two distinct products: Milk powder and butter.

It will produce 280 million pounds of high quality milk powders, which is used in infant formula, protein drinks, baked goods.

And it will churn out 175 million pounds of butter, packaged for both commercial and residential customers.

Darigold operates six processing plants in Washington, three in Idaho and one each in Montana and Oregon.

Thousands of cows

In Pasco, Darigold will convert 8 million pounds — or about 930,000 gallons — of milk every day into high quality milk powders, as well as butter.

The milk will arrive via tanker from 100 member dairies and represents the output of more than 116,000 cows. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculates the average cow produces 8 gallons of milk each day.

Darigold initially intended to begin operating the Pasco plant in 2024. A spokesman cited the complexity of building a 500,000-square-foot facility packed with technology and next-generation processing gear for the delayed start.

Too, it faced supply chain issues and had to update designs when building codes were updated. Miron Construction is the contractor in Pasco.

Most of the building material is in hand and larger pieces of equipment, such as gas-fired evaporators, were fabricated on site.

It’s one of the more visible construction projects on the Tri-Cities horizon, with towering cranes visible to the thousands of vehicles traveling the highway daily.

Aerial images supplied by Darigold show a series of silos for storing milk, as well as several buildings taking shape on the 150-acre construction site.

When operational, the Pasco plant plans to employ 200.

Beyond the plant, Darigold is expected to support an additional 1,000 jobs in the community as suppliers ramp up to support the business.

Got milk?

Every day, the Pasco plant will process enough milk to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool about one and a half times over, according to TheMeasureofThings.com a website that provides whimsical comparisons to help give context to huge numbers.

Darigold said the milk will come from Northwest Dairy Association owner/members that currently ship to dairy processing plants in Eastern Washington and Idaho.

It also opens the door for member dairies to add to their herds. Don’t expect 116,000 dairy cows to suddenly appear in the neighborhood, though.

“Those cows will not all be located in Franklin County,” said Derrick Braaten, planning and building director for Franklin County.

But some will. Several member dairies have updated milking facilities and sought approval to expand herds, he confirmed.

Dairies react

At least two area dairies are pursuing expansion plans, according to state environmental records.

One, Coulee Flats sought to 6,500 dairy replacement heifers and offspring to its 3,500-head facility, boosting capacity to 10,000.

It called Darigold a win for the region and the environment when its plans were announced in 2021.

“The overall impact of our industry to our area will go up, while our carbon footprint will go down,” it said.

Apples, worth $2 billion to the state, are Washington’s signature agricultural product. Dairy is close behind.

Dairy is worth nearly $1.7 billion to the state economy, according to the Washington Department of Agriculture, comparable to wheat.

The industry is mostly concentrated in Eastern Washington, with Yakima County being No. 1. The others are Benton, Franklin and Grant counties. The notable exception is No. 2 Whatcom County in Northwest Washington.

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