Bongards Creameries Perham Plant Expansion Drives Major Whey Production Boom

A $125 million expansion at Bongards Creameries' Perham plant drove a major increase in whey production and sales as upgrades came online, capping a construction push that local Perham contractors carried out over roughly two years.

The project grew the plant's processing capacity by 30 percent, with Bongards reporting a target of 5.5 million pounds of milk per day, up from a baseline of 4.1 million pounds. Baker Tilly Capital, which helped structure the financing, described the gain as growth of "almost one-third," putting the final figure at 5.4 million pounds per day. Bongards Vice President of Marketing Evan Carlson was direct about the headline number: "The expansion will represent a 30% increase in plant capacity."

The scope of the work touched nearly every corner of the facility. Milk intake bays were expanded, cheese packaging equipment was upgraded, and the whey drying and packaging line received new machinery, including the installation of a new DPW dryer and powder packaging and handling equipment. A 250,000-square-foot addition was built to accommodate whey warehousing, and wastewater treatment systems were expanded to support the higher throughput. Bongards had already replaced the plant's cheese vats and evaporator in 2023, with those upgrades part of a broader multi-year modernization program the company put at $185 million in total.

CEO Daryl Larson framed the investment in terms of the cooperative's obligations to its farmer-owners. "With this latest investment, we will be able to continue supporting the growth of our business, allow our current farmer-owners to expand, and allow us to bring on new members," he said. "In order to increase our milk intake by nearly a third, many aspects of the production process need to be expanded."

The added capacity positions the Perham plant to process milk from roughly 16,000 additional dairy cows from around the region, according to AgWeek. That figure carries particular weight in the current regional landscape: a creamery located about three hours from Perham closed, leaving approximately 40 Minnesota and Wisconsin dairy farms without buyers for their milk. Of Bongards' 267 cooperative members, 98 percent are family farms, according to Baker Tilly.

Financing the expansion required an unusual structure. Because nearly all of Bongards' capital consists of profits allocated to cooperative members rather than permanent equity, the company faced constraints typical of the co-op model. Baker Tilly Capital helped assemble an $81 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation to bridge that gap. Rural Development Partners contributed $20 million of that total, with Mascoma Community Development adding $20 million, Waveland Community Development and the National New Markets Fund each providing $17.5 million, and DV Community Investment participating as a fourth partner.

Dan Helgeson, CEO of Rural Development Partners, said the project's significance extended beyond the plant gates. "RDP is honored to help Bongards expand its operations in Perham. The added capacity will allow them to continue to service their existing members while bringing on additional patrons. Bongards has always paid a premium to their members which is vital to the long-term viability of family farms in Minnesota."

Perham Economic Development Authority Director Nick Murdock noted that the expansion would eventually bring an increase in tax revenue for the area. The project was also expected to generate about a dozen new direct jobs at the plant, while RDP and Baker Tilly estimated the full economic ripple effect at 165 created or retained positions and 389 additional indirect jobs supporting operations.

Bongards has operated the Perham facility since 2003, when the cooperative purchased the former Land O'Lakes dairy plant. The company completed a significant capacity expansion there in 2015 and added warehouse space in 2022, making the current project the third major round of investment in the plant in roughly a decade. Major construction began in July 2023, with Bongards initially targeting a completion date of June 2025; AgWeek reported the full project was expected to wrap by the end of 2025. The cooperative was founded in 1908 in the southeastern Minnesota town of Bongards and produces hundreds of millions of pounds of natural cheese, process cheese and whey annually.