Local Milk

Changes in Dollar General Dairy Coolers in the Southeast; DG Fresh Distribution Centers Shift Available Brands

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Changes are happening in Dollar General dairy cases. In the southeast, this means that there will be visible changes in brands on the cooler shelves.  In some cases, depending on location, this means that familiar ‘local’ brands, which supported farms in the immediate local area, will no longer be available to consumers in at their community Dollar General.

In late 2018, Dollar General announced plans for a new “DG Fresh” Distribution plan, and opened their first regional distribution center for perishable goods in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. During 2019, 4 more regional warehouses were built, with several of those coming on-line in late 2019 and early 2020.

Part of this plan included the expansion of the Dollar General’s in-house Clover Valley brand onto milk cartons sold in the regular DG stores, whereby Dollar General would further utilize its own private label. For a few years, Clover Valley branded milk has been available in the Dollar General Markets (the grocery format DG, but without a huge footprint like the stores you see every 5-6 miles).

Affecting the lower Southeast milkshed most directly are two of those warehouses, one in Atlanta, GA, and another in Montgomery, AL.  In some regions, this means that familiar local brands will no longer appear on the shelves of their local Dollar General stores.

Perhaps the most affected region will be East Tennessee.  Beginning in the second week of June, 2020, local dairy farmers and their families, following their habits, went into Dollar Generals specifically to purchase Mayfield brands (Mayfield in the yellow carton and Fieldcrest in a translucent carton), but were startled to see they were no longer available.  Instead, they saw Clover Valley private labels and PET branded milks.

For several years, local consumers in East TN could rest assured they would be supporting their local dairy farm neighbors by purchasing either Mayfield or Fieldcrest brands at a Dollar General store.  Many dairy farm families and their friends and neighbors shopped at Dollar General because they knew the chain supported their farms.  This grass-roots promotion by the farmers themselves, who knew retail brands were a means of connecting their farms with a consumer sale, sent many customers to Dollar General.  Those farmers will now be sending those consumers to other retailers.

This Dollar General move ultimately means local milk from East Tennessee dairy farms, processed at the Mayfield Dairy plant in Athens, has lost a significant amount of retail shelf space in the immediate area.   Sources, who asked not to be identified, said the milk will still have a Dollar General home, but will be processed and packaged in Athens, then hauled to a warehouse in the Montgomery, AL area, for distribution in the coastal southeast.

Dollar General has now built 5 of a projected 17 regional distribution centers for refrigerated and fresh products.  Those distribution warehouses will serve as hubs in which Dollar General will supply their own stores, instead of relying on Direct Store Delivery (DSD) from various vendors and other regional food distributors.

Atlanta DG Fresh Warehouse will serve East TN:   Up until now, Dollar Generals in East Tn, North Georgia, and SW Virginia had received their milk deliveries directly from Mayfield trucks, arriving 2-3x a week.   Beginning this June 2020, they will receive milk from a DG Fresh warehouse located in the Atlanta area.  That warehouse will receive packaged milk from the Pet Dairy Plant at Spartanburg, SC, which does buy milk from southeast farms, just generally not Tennessee farms.

Change was underway before the Dean Foods bankruptcy:  Both Pet and Mayfield were previously owned by Dean Foods, but as of May 1st, are now owned by Dairy Farmers of America, Inc, the nation’s largest milk cooperative.  The Dollar General plan was initiated in the latter half of 2018, and was well underway before the Dean Foods / Southern Foods Group, LLC Chapter 11 bankruptcy was  filed in November of 2019, and long before the DFA purchase of Mayfield, Pet and other Dean Foods operations.

So, what’s in store for Dollar General dairy cases?  Here’s a sampling of what’s being seen thus far (as of June 19, 2020).  The changeover isn’t quite complete, and it hasn’t been determined how wide a geographic area this will affect. At this time, it’s unknown how Dollar Generals in the middle TN area, which has been served by Purity and its private Dairy Belle label, will be affected.

Point of Pride now gone for East Tn Farmers:  Many dairy farmers in East TN were very happy that Dollar General carried the Mayfield and Fieldcrest brands, and many shopped at Dollar General for that very reason. After all, it was a Tennessee-based company carrying a highly nutritious product that was produced on Tennessee farms. And that milk not only affected dairy farms, it was a means of connection for other farms who grew grains and hay that went to feed those Mayfield cows. That intense in-state connection has now been broken by a Dollar General corporate decision for ‘efficiency’ for Dollar General.  Farmers may understand it, but it doesn’t make it any less painful for them to not be able to make that connection with a product on a shelf.

The ‘short-description’ of the new ‘milk domino game’ type of distribution:

  • Milk, largely from farms in the Carolinas and NW Georgia, will be processed at the PET plant in Spartanburg, SC, then shipped to a DG Warehouse in Atlanta, for distribution to DG stores in GA, East TN, and as far west as Birmingham AL. (there might be slight variations in the distribution territory).
  • Milk from East TN and North Georgia farms will be processed at Athens, TN, packaged in cartons wearing the Mayfield and Clover Valley brands, then shipped to Montgomery, AL for distribution in the Coastal South.
  • It’s not yet known how this switch will affect FL, VA, and KY and areas farther west.
  • Observation: As Covid-19 panic buying ensued in March and April, Dollar General stores in the southeast experienced milk shortages like grocery stores.  However, some of the shortages in DG were also likely due to DG personnel getting adjusted to this new distribution schematic.  Even this week, there have been some very empty Dollar General coolers, particularly a couple of days after a delivery.

But above all, Dairy Farmers in the South do appreciate everyone who buys any of these southeast brands, and we appreciate Dollar General for buying milk from southeast farms!

Photos tell the story:

The Changes in Chugs in East TN (the ‘drop in and get it to go cause it’s local’ size):

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GALLONS:  Some Comparisons of the new and previous in East TN:

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PLANT CODES:  How we know where the milk was processed (most farms in the southeast know where the farms are) along with a note about the “Best By” date:

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History of DG Fresh Implementation, and Background:

Dollar General has over 16,000 stores, and approximately 5,000 are now receiving goods from their DG Fresh Perishable Goods warehouses.  The company hopes to be nationwide with this effort within 3-4 years.  Here’s a progression:

Mar 15, 2019: Dollar General Shifting to Self-Distribution of Fresh and Frozen; by Russell Redman for Supermarket News

  • The effort began in very early 2019 with 300 stores in the Northeast, distribution facility located in Pottsville, PA
  • CEO Todd Vasos said “DG Fresh will allow us to control our own destiny in fresh foods.”
  • Vasos: “In addition, self-distribution will allow us to offer a wider selection of our own private brands to provide our customers with even more compelling value. Overall, we expect DG Fresh to allow us to do a better job of tailoring our product selection to fit the needs of our customers, particularly in rural areas.”

March 19, 2019:  Dollar General Brings Perishables Distribution In-House, Will Open 975 New Stores in in 2019, by Glenn Taylor, for Retail Touch Points

Aug 29, 2019: Dollar General Encouraged by DG Fresh Rollout,by Ron Ruggles for Supermarket News

Aug 29, 2019: Dollar General Expanding DG Fresh to Fourth Distribution Center, posted at Produce Blue Book

  • From one warehouse in PA in Jan of 2019, then one in NC and GA during the spring and summer of 2019,  adding another in Indiana last fall

Dec 6, 2019: Dollar General to open 5th Warehouse in Fresh Distribution Overhaul  by Emma Cosgrove, Supply Chain Dive

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3 Southeast Dairy Events: Networks Working Together to Find Solutions

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A Compilation of stories and news about 3 challenges affecting Southeast Dairy Producers:  Dean Foods, Maryland-Virginia and Piedmont

 Southeast Dairy:  In the News. Pushing Forward.
 
Introduction:
In the past two weeks, in a time of already depressed milk prices, there has been a three-fold challenge to dairy farms in the southeast.  Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina all have farmers affected, with varying degrees of uncertainty about their milk buyer futures.
To say these past days have been painful and a flurry of concern, high emotions, and rumor mills have resulted is an understatement, but yet, as the dust settles, some activity has encouraged some hope, and herd owners are beginning to look forward. Many are making decisions based on faith, and in a calm fashion based on what they believe best for their farm. Some of those farms are being public, while others are remaining cautious and quietly seeking answers behind the scenes.
Bright Spot? Yes!   One farmer asked if there was going to be any good news to share about this whole mess, and yes, actually, there are two:
First, phone calls, texts, and Social Media outcries have indicated loudly and clearly that consumers, government officials, fellow farm organizations, and economic development personnel are indeed concerned about preserving ‘local’ or ‘regional’ milk in their areas, and appear to be eager to learn how they can help accomplish that.
Hopefully, this newfound energy can be channeled for long-term purchases of local milk, from local farms.  Time will tell. Consumer outreach is going to have to continue.
The second is this:  We still have upwards of 40 herds (at least in TN) shipping to Dean. The company is still the largest volume buyer of ‘local’ milk in TN at its three plants.  Putting that in perspective, every Dean Direct herd in Indiana,  with the exception of one, received letters of notice. Several were herds well over 1000 cows.
Background:  The three part challenge:
1.) Dean Foods:  On Friday, March 2, news broke of upwards of 115 (tallies still underway) farmers in 8 states receiving 90-day termination notices of their supply agreements to Dean Foods plants.  10 Tennessee herds and 22-25 Kentucky herds were affected, with 25-27  in Indiana, 42 in Pennsylvania, 6 in the Carolinas, and a yet unknown number in New York.  Three plants in our area – at Athens, TN, Spartanburg, SC, and Louisville, KY are involved in the contract termination decisions.   Herd sizes in all states range from under 100 to 1000 cows; 20 Million pounds of Indiana milk will need to find a new home, or be removed from the already overabundant nationwide supply.
The herds involved were Dean Direct producers, meaning the farm itself had a purchase agreement with Dean Foods plants, instead of gaining access to the plant through a milk co-op. Farmers who were members of co-ops did not receive these termination letters.  All of this activity followed a Dean Foods Earnings Announcement on Monday, Feb. 26 in which the phrases such as ‘rescaling the supply line’ foretold of company wide cuts to come.
2.)  During:  the week prior to the Dean Foods announcement, rumors began to circulate that Piedmont Milk Producers, based in Blountville, TN and serving farms in TN, VA, and NC,  was restructuring their business. (Story below with a video link)
3.)  MD-VA Milk Cooperative with 1,500 members from Pennsylvania to Florida, and some in Kentucky and Tennessee, sent a Feb. 27th letter to all of its members that their advance milk payment checks, expected at the end of the month, would fall to levels of $12.62 cwt in FO 5 & 7, and $10 in FO 1 and $33. The company said it was working on financial restructuring and was renegotiating credit facilities. Over the weekend, sources have begun to indicate that the problems may have been resolved to some degree, but the company has not made any official announcements. With settlement checks expected within a couple of days, some direction will be known.
In the days since, there has been a flurry of activity following the first notices: meetings of  farmers, meetings of farmers and agribusiness personnel, meetings of dairy organizations, and frequent phone calls between many parties in positions to help chart a future course.  AgCentral has been busy assisting producers in a variety of ways in a three-state area. While we have yet to have a formal working group to address what can be done and how to approach a dairy future, a tremendous amount of contacts have been made information gathered.
Following is a “Digest” of some the best information available, in no particular order – stories mentioned include stories of the Watsons and the Stooksburys, as well as a couple of stories from Ohio which further outline the far-reaching affects of the Dean announcements:
1.) Dave Natzke, an experienced and respected dairy industry reporter, now with Progressive Dairyman, published a broad perspective view of the Dean Foods story, and puts it in context with the dairy industry and events across the country. In his article, Dave reports that the Walmart plant was originally announced as a $165 Million Dollar venture, and provides a glimpse into how the Walmart plant may source their milk.
2.) Sherry Bunting, Farmshine, reports with a focus on PA, where 42 herds lost Dean contracts.  She notes hauling routes were a factor in terminated Pennsylvania herds, and reports the loss of a Food Lion contract, which was a factor which triggered a decision regarding 5 TN herds in Greene and Hamblen Counties.
From the article: “This affects all size herds and is not a large or small farm thing,” said [Reace] Smith, [of Dean Foods Corporate Communications.]  While she was unable to supply specific information about the farms that were terminated, she said the widespread volume adjustments at multiple plants across four Federal Orders was necessary do to the new Class I plant (Walmart) coming online this month and the loss of a contract through a competitive bidding process. (Food Lion).” 
It is the loss of that Food Lion contract, previously filled largely through a Carolina plant(s), which created a shift in milk hauling from plant to plant, and created an excess at the Dean/Pet plant at Spartanburg, SC, which had to be eliminated.  The milk from five (5) producers in Hamblen and Greene Counties in TN was being hauled to Spartanburg. Those producers are now searching for new markets or making decisions to sell cows.
Dewey Morgan, of the Daily Post-Athenian, in the hometown of the Mayfield plant,  cites these significant stats:
Regarding declining consumption and increased production: “Americans are drinking about 3 gallons less per person since 2010, and 11 gallons less than 1975, while every year, 350 Million more gallons of milk are produced than the year before.”
Amount of local milk: The Dean Foods plant in Athens ‘still sources 90% of our milk from Tennessee.’
The Watson Family: their stories on WVLT-TV and on the Knoxville News-Sentinel website:
The Watsons, who farm near Sweetwater, TN, were one of the southeast TN farms who received 90-day notices.  The senior generation is Robert and Rosemary Watson (mom and dad), who farm with their sons Josh and Caleb.  The family is known for being extremely generous members of their community.  Both Josh and Caleb have been featured in news stories in Knoxville, TN media:
  •  Josh: From WVLT-TV, a story and video clip: Josh states that he doesn’t entirely blame Dean Foods. He adds: “there’s a lot of jobs that revolve around the dairy – it will hurt them.”
  • Caleb: Both a video and a photo album have been posted at the Knoxville Sentinel website. Caleb notes the family will continue to look for a milk buyer, and will look at other options to diversify, he says they will survive.
  • Front Page: The Knoxville News Sentinel published a front page story featuring Caleb on Tuesday, March 13.
Piedmont considering new business structure and how the company operates: story on Knoxville WBIR-TV
  • Brant Stooksbury, and his father Brian in Jefferson County, currently ship their milk through Piedmont Milk Sales, with offices at Blountville, TN. Piedmont, who represents farms in Northeast TN, Virginia, and North Carolina (the great majority are in NC) is making business changes.
 
Farm & Dairy:  Provides additional details on  WalMart distibution
WKBN-TN at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania – a video story describing some of the trickle down effects.
Ongoing:  This story will continue to evolve over the next few weeks, and spring crop work is already cranking up.  We know this challenge is great, but this region has overcome challenges before: at this time 25 years ago, many of us were digging out from a record blizzard, and some went without power for days. 27 years ago, in February of 1991, 400 herds received notices of a Pet bankruptcy, and lost a month’s worth of milk payments, along with having to scramble to find new milk handlers – there were no 90-day notices.
No doubt, our dairy industry is changing, but we have proven we can survive.
P.S.   Rod Carmichael has scheduled a complete herd dispersal for April 27.  Please mark that date on your calendars and keep Rod and Donna in your thoughts.

 

 

Fulfilling a Milk Drive Legacy: Randy Davis Memorial Fund Purchases in June Dairy Month

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The Passion of Randy Davis for promoting the goodness of milk is legendary to those who knew him, or who ever encountered him.

His legacy will continue to touch thousands of families this June Dairy Month 2017 following Randy’s untimely death in November of 2016.   To honor Randy’s life mission, the Randy Davis Memorial Milk Drive Fund was established.  Thanks to the kind generosity of his friends, family, and dairy community, the fund thus far has accumulated approximately $5,000, with contributions still coming in.

Following Randy’s life example, the Memorial Fund was set up to accomplish these goals:

  • To honor Randy’s passion for dairy farming and milk itself
  • To honor Randy’s impact on the Southeast dairy community, and his love for regional farms and dairy farm neighbors
  • To get fresh, nutritious milk into the hands of families who need it the most, with distribution to be accomplished by area Food Banks and charitable organizations
  • To connect area farms with their non-farm neighbors

Thus, the fund monies are designated to purchase brands of milk who source milk from southeast farms, reinforcing that milk is not only a nutritional powerhouse, but is also an economic generator in local economies.   The milk purchased is to be donated primarily to Second Harvest, who will then distribute it to local food banks through their networks. Other charitable organizations may benefit as well.

Because June Dairy Month was a highlight of the year for Randy, it was only natural that this month was a fitting time to accomplish those milk buys, donations, and deliveries.

Those funds are  currently being dispensed through a combination of private milk purchases in bulk quantities, and through milk buys at on-site milk drives taking place at Knoxville-area Ingles stores on June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.   It is anticipated a final ‘buy’ will take place later in the summer, hopefully by July 1st, with the method yet to be determined.

Purchase Event 1 – Memorial Fund Private Buy with Mayfield Dairy

The first purchase was completed on May 30, 2017 at the Mayfield Distribution Center in Knoxville, TN.    A group of Randy’s family, Second Harvest officials, Mayfield officials, and Memorial Fund Administrators gathered to mark the occasion.

824 gallons! A total of 824 gallons was delivered to Second Harvest – East Tennessee, who will then distribute those gallons to local food banks in their 18-county service area.  572 gallons were purchased with Memorial Funds, and Mayfield generously donated an additional 252 gallons!  We cannot thank Mayfield Dairy enough!

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In the photo from left:  Roy Settle, First Bank & Trust, and Steve Harrison, Memorial Fund Committee members, John Randel, Tyler, and Alli Davis Kamper, Mark Aranda and Aaron Snukals, Second Harvest East TN, Kris Thomas, Mayfield Distribution Center, Lynn Davis, Samantha Davis Craun, Cindy Curtis, Violet and Gene Davis (Randy’s parents).

Purchase Event 2:  Memorial Funds will buy milk at Knoxville Ingles Milk Drives

For the past four years, Randy had been instrumental in facilitating and organizing on-site Milk Drives at area retailers in East Tennessee.  These milk drives, some early ones at Kroger, with the bulk of them occurring at area Ingles groceries, are supported by Tennessee’s Dairy Farm Families via the Tennessee Dairy Promotion Committee.

Country Q 100.3, a Knoxville area radio station, and Ingles groceries have been welcome and excellent partners in these drives.  The total events have been coordinated by Kay Bradley, who personally has purchased lots of milk for the drives.

To further honor Randy, this year’s store milk drives have been designated the “Randy Davis Memorial Milk Drives” by Q 100.  They even have a tab at their home page!

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If a person wishes to contribute but can’t make it to one of the stores, contributions can be made online here!  

This year’s on-site Milk Drives are schedule for June 1-3.  In short, customers who visit stores are encouraged to purchase milk from the store’s dairy case and then bring to a Second Harvest refrigerated truck who collects milk during the event. Last year’s event yielded approximately 4,000 gallons total for Second Harvest.  (Learn More.) 

Monies from the fund will make two purchases, in the amount of $850 each, at the store events on Friday, June 1st, at the Lenoir City Ingles, and on Saturday, June 2nd, at the Farragut Ingles.

Lenoir City is in Loudon County, Tennessee’s #1 County in Milk Production (also Randy’s home county!), so it was a natural to make a purchase there.  The Memorial Fund will make a purchase at approximately 6:30 pm (some will be traveling back from Nashville).

The Farragut Milk Drive on Saturday, June 2nd, will be joined by two UT Football #VFLs (Vols for Life)!  We’re so happy to announce that Jayson Swain, a Vol Network commentator, and Antoine Davis, who administers the Vol For Life Program, will be in attendance to help promote the cause!

We invite any of Randy’s wide circle of friends to join us at either of these events!

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Randy was a man of deep faith, and many have been privileged to hear his testimony.

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,”  is a life’s instruction found in Matthew 25, verse 40.

As we honor Randy in this first June Dairy Month without his physical presence here on Earth, his faith, illustrated by this verse, will live on through his Memorial Fund purchases and these milk drives.

The Davis Family, the Fund Administrators, and the Dairy Community are grateful to each and everyone who has helped to see that Randy’s legacy continues on.

There will be more in the coming days about the Memorial Fund activities and the Milk Drives, but for now “Thank You.”  We hope to see you at one of the Milk Drive Events!

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