Last updated on June 13th, 2024
Aurora Organic Dairy celebrated the opening of its new milk plant in Columbia, Missouri, on April 17.
The 127,000-s.f. milk production and storage facility is the second milk bottling facility for Aurora Organic Dairy. It is expected to create 100 jobs by the end of 2019.
“Aurora Organic Dairy is a great company that will ultimately bring more than 160 quality jobs to Missouri,” Governor Mike Parson said. “Missouri’s central location and infrastructure network are two keys to attracting and retaining good businesses here in our state. We look forward to supporting their growth for years to come.”
Aurora Organic Dairy grows a portion of its own certified organic feed and pasture, raises and milks organic cows at eight farms, and processes and packages milk at two locations — the new dairy in Columbia and an existing facility in Platteville, Colorado.
The new Columbia plant’s state-of-the-art aseptic milk bottling line makes AOD one of few dairy plants in America to distribute shelf-stable organic milk products.
“Our company’s mission is to deliver high-quality organic milk with integrity to everyone, everywhere,” Aurora Organic Dairy Chief Executive Officer Scott McGinty said. “Products like these not only offer consumers more organic product choices, but they also help expand markets for organic milk producers. Innovation is rapidly changing the face of dairy beverages like never before, and organic milk is no exception.”
The facility will process and package milk in a variety of single-serve and shelf-stable (aseptic) bottles, value-added dairy products such as fortified and flavored milks and creamers, milk varieties including A2 production, organic grass-fed, Omega 3 fortified, and lactose-reduced and extended shelf-life milk in half-gallon cartons.
Based in Boulder, Colorado, Aurora Organic Dairy operates a heifer farm and organic dairy farms in Colorado and Texas and organic dairy processing plants in Colorado and Missouri. Its processing facilities and each of its farms are certified organic by USDA National Organic Program accredited certifiers and certified by Validus, an independent animal welfare auditor.
