Dairy Farmers of America to ‘idle’ its St. Albans plant in Vermont,
affecting 80 employees
[June 19, 2026] By
TSEHAI ALFRED/VTDigger
Dairy Farmers of America will effectively close its St. Albans milk
processing plant and the adjoining St. Albans Creamery & Supply, the
group announced Wednesday, putting roughly 80 employees out of work.
“Both the plant and store have been foundational parts of the St. Albans
community for generations,” DFA said in a statement, adding that it
recognizes “the deep local connections to these operations.” A DFA
spokesperson told VTDigger that idling the plant means day-to-day
production will end, but the group will retain ownership of the facility
and maintain a “small team” on site.
The closure is a blow to Franklin County’s dairy economy, removing a
longtime processing hub in a region built heavily around the industry
that has recently faced similar dairy production shutdowns. Dairy
Farmers of America, a national farmer-owned cooperative, called the move
part of broader operational and network changes.
For union organizer Curtis Clough, the decision to largely end
operations came “out of the blue,” and he and his fellow union members
were upset once made aware. DFA told workers about the decision 15
minutes before making its public announcement, according to Clough. The
DFA spokesperson confirmed to VTDigger that workers were alerted
Wednesday morning.
“They’re upset. They’re angry. They feel like they have supported DFA
through the hard times, like Covid, and DFA is turning around and
abandoning them, so they’re taking it pretty hard,” Clough told VTDigger,
describing workers’ reactions to the news.
The St. Albans plant and store have operated in the county for decades,
with the factory producing dairy for Vermont vendors, including Ben &
Jerry’s and Cabot Creamery. The latest decision comes after the St.
Albans Creamery & Supply announced it would close its co-op grocery
store last summer, transitioning solely into a retail business. It also
follows the plant’s unionized workers’ reaching a contract with Dairy
Farmers of America in October 2025, after alleging “brutal” working
conditions, including mandatory overtime that extended their shifts into
12-hour workdays.
Dairy Farmers of America said in its announcement Wednesday that the
shuttering is not a reflection of workers’ performance and that it is
committed to supporting those affected.
Clough, who helped lead the organizing for a contract, said he does not
think the shuttering is related to union activity but rather it “relates
more to the fact that the dairy industry is in freefall in Vermont.”
Earlier this month, Franklin Foods, a dairy company that has also
operated in Franklin County for more than a century, announced it would
be closing its facility, laying off nearly 100 workers. That followed
significant layoffs by another company in the area, Perrigo, which
announced in May it would be laying off 161 employees as the company
moves toward closing its facility in Georgia. Before that, in September
2025, dairy manufacturer HP Hood confirmed it would be closing its plant
in Barre, affecting approximately 50 employees.
“We knew something’s been going on in the milk industry,” Clough said,
referring to the pattern of closings. “We reached out to some of the
state officials months ago.”
[to top of second column] |
Members of Teamsters Local 597 union picket outside the Dairy
Farmers of America plant in St. Albans, Vt., Sept. 30, 2025. (Glenn
Russell/VTDigger via AP)
 Matthew Staebner, a dairy farmer in
South Glastonbury, Connecticut, whose family used to farm in
Franklin County, said the St. Albans plant closing, alongside the
other dairy facility closures in the area, is “going to negatively
affect all the dairy farmers in New England.”
“I just think that it’s time that a lot of the dairy farmers look to
basically do what most other farmers now are doing, which is
marketing their own products,” Staebner told VTDigger, describing
the ripple effect these closures will have on the dairy industry.
Despite the recent spate of closings in the Vermont dairy industry,
Clough said he was “surprised at the scope” of DFA’s decision. While
Clough said DFA has been “consistently losing customers” due to the
state of the dairy industry, he argued that the plant still has
enough business to justify operations, citing its notable customers
like Ben & Jerry’s, and said that the “milk industry is bound to
bounce back.”
Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s secretary of agriculture, food and
markets, told VTDigger that he believes “something is going on” with
the processing industry, but said it’s “probably not just unique to
Vermont.” Nevertheless, he said the agency has been meeting with a
team of others in the state involved in economic development and
agriculture to “think about some of these plants and what the future
may be for them, and if there’s any way to repurpose them.”
Currently, the milk received at the St. Albans facility will
continue to be processed, which DFA said will ensure a “market for
regional dairy farmers and continued service to customers without
disruption.”
The plant’s last day of operations will be Aug. 17, according to DFA.
“We hope that they reconsider their decision,” Clough said. Union
members will be meeting with DFA to talk about worker accommodations
in July, according to Clough, and the workers have already been in
contact with U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.
In the meantime, DFA is providing the affected employees with
transition support, according to its spokesperson, including
severance pay.
“Keeping the facility gives us flexibility as we evaluate what makes
the most sense for the future,” the spokesperson said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
