As a girl who loves her dairy, this Mitten factoid definitely caught my attention. Not only would I consider myself a queso connoisseur but I would also call myself a "fromage fanatic". I simply must try all the cheeses.

That's why when I heard one of the largest cheese processing plants in the United States was right here in our own backyard, I wanted to know everything.

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Cheese Consumption

Located just outside of Lansing in Clinton County, Irish-based company MWC/Glanbia broke ground on a 120 acre property in St. Johns in 2018. At the time, John Dardis, Senior VP of U.S. corporate affairs for Glanbia told the Lansing State Journal,

Cheese demand is strong

You can say that again! According to the International Dairy Foods Association, Americans' dairy and cheese consumption is at an all-time high with the average citizen consuming nearly 30 pounds of cheese per year.

Midwest Cheese dairy truck/Glanbia Nutritionals via YouTube
Midwest Cheese dairy truck/Glanbia Nutritionals via YouTube
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Cheese Production

The state-of-the-art cheese facility in St. Johns processes close to 8 million pounds of milk per day making it the largest processor in Michigan in a singe site. In just one day the facility can produce 800,000 pounds of "superior block cheese." That's a lot of cheese!

Michigan Made

With an already successful plant in New Mexico, Glanbia chose Michigan as its next home because of our thriving dairy industry. In a press release the company said,

In determining the site for the new facility, St. Johns was selected due to the growing supply of high quality milk in the region, the excellent transportation infrastructure in the region, proximity to customers, and the positive business environment and strong local workforce reputation in the region.

In fact, the facility in St. Johns captures nearly 20% of Michigan's milk. With such large-scale cheese production that means Michigan milk is making its way across the entire globe—take that Wisconsin!

Marvel in the Grandeur of This Historic Home for Sale in St. Johns

It is rumored President Theodore Roosevelt visited the home during his Whistle Stop tours.

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