ROME — Chobani’s April announcement that it will build a $1.2 billion plant in Rome at Griffiss Business and Technology Park isn’t just good news for people looking for a job or those who like the company’s Greek yogurt. It’s also good news for the hundreds of farmers in the Mohawk Valley who will have […]
ROME — Chobani’s April announcement that it will build a $1.2 billion plant in Rome at Griffiss Business and Technology Park isn’t just good news for people looking for a job or those who like the company’s Greek yogurt.
It’s also good news for the hundreds of farmers in the Mohawk Valley who will have an opportunity to provide milk and other products to the facility, which will house up to 28 production lines designed to process 12 million pounds of milk per day.
That’s why Mohawk Valley EDGE is working now to bring the industry and other stakeholders together to make sure farmers can benefit.
MV EDGE had internal discussions in early June, outlining how to bring together stakeholders from the agriculture, workforce, education, and policy sectors to talk about not just now Chobani’s new plant will impact the region but also how to address the needs of New York’s dairy industry.
“We just want to support them in every way possible,” MV EDGE Chief of Staff Marc Barraco says.
Those initial talks outlined six core areas: Chobani’s expansion and supply-chain readiness; event planning and stakeholder engagement; workforce challenges, upskilling, and education; policy and program gaps; and actionable next steps.
The goal, Barraco says, is to ensure that not only is Chobani successful but also the whole upstate dairy industry prospers.
“We want to broaden this outreach as much as we can,” he says. Talks may involve more than just how much milk Chobani needs and include topics such as the trucking industry and farm-worker protections.
“If we want the biggest bang for our buck, this is the perfect time to be having these discussions,” Barraco says.
Agriculture remains Oneida County’s top industry by volume, Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. notes. “That’s still a large part of this county’s industry,” he says. And it’s not just dairy, he adds. Chobani may also need fruits from some of the region’s many producers.
Along with requiring all that milk, Chobani also expects to create more than 1,000 full-time jobs once the Rome facility opens.
That’s why workforce development is one of the planned topics for the roundtable. MV EDGE and Chobani are already talking with colleges and universities, as well as others, about how to create that workforce.
EDGE is eyeing a late summer or early fall date for the roundtable event, and Barraco wants people to come prepared.
“We want to task everyone that’s invited … to come with resources at the ready,” he says. MV EDGE wants more than just ideas at the table. It wants resources and tools, plans to overcome challenges, and identified actionable opportunities.
“It’s a big endeavor, but it’s worth it,” Barraco says.
