Stand in Litchfield’s South Park and look to the north and the massive First District Association facility looms like a Middle Age fortress.
But unlike the cold venue of such a fortress, the FDA facility seems to exude a warmth and good spirit projected by its 165 full-time employees.
“Some of the finest, hardest working people on the globe,” is the way First District Chief Executive Officer Bob Huffman describes his workforce.
Currently, 110 trucks per day bring in 5.5 million gallons of milk to the huge local facility. Looking to the future, by next spring FDA will have 150 trucks bringing in 7.5 million pounds of milk daily, making FDA by far the largest milk processor in the Upper Midwest.
Cheese, American style, is a major product of FDA — some 700 to 800 pounds daily goes out to markets nationwide, marketed under a number of brand names.
About 10 truckloads of fresh milk daily goes out from here to Twin Cities markets. Whey protein from FDA milk is used in baby formula, marketed as far off as China and Japan. Cheese from FDA is used in many snack products found on food shelves across the nation.
Some 700 to 800 milk producers are part of the FDA scene. The FDA area stretches from southeast Minnesota to the South Dakota border and as far north as the Fergus Falls area. CEO Huffman notes the ag scene is facing some hard times, but notes that “no one can weather an economic storm beetter than a farmer.”
Huffman notes that FDA is very appreciative of the cooperation of the city, especially the efforts of City Administrator Dave Cziok and Mayor Keith Johnson.
City Administrator Cziok says the city and FDA have developed a very good relationship based on a sound appreciation and respect for the aims of the two entities.
“When you have 150 trucks coming into town daily, it takes a real spirit of cooperation to keep things from getting really disruptive,” Cziok said.
Huffman says the physical size of the First District Association plant has pretty much reached its peak, “however, the hardworking spirit of our workforce continues to grow.”
“Litchfield will continue to be home to FDA,” Huffman says, and continue to foster the good neighbor scene that has been part of the scene in the past.”
