"We're off to a solid start," said Tony Vernon, CEO of Kraft.  "Our first quarter results reflect strong returns on our new product innovations to date, as well as the fact that our cost savings outpaced our plans to reinvest in our brands."

Seattle-based Darigold, the marketing and processing subsidiary of the Northwest Dairy Association, announced the completion of its new milk powder dryer at its Lynden, Wash., processing plant. A fire destroyed the dryer in February 2012.

The Roberts Dairy brand will be discontinued in May when the dairy's milk and dairy products will be marketed under the Hiland Dairy Foods label. In a statement, Hiland said "the move will solidify the synergy between two of the country’s finest dairy producers, under one name."

AMPI’s core products were the cooperative’s top performers in 2012. Cheese production, which represents 57% of total sales, grew by more than 11 million pounds as compared to one year earlier. Butter production continued to grow steadily, increasing 5 million pounds. 

Dairy Farmers of America reported today its net income increased more than 100% in 2012 — $83 million for 2012, compared to $40 million for 2011 — but after non-recurring items, DFA reported a net loss of $133 million for the year. 

The company said products making the strongest contributions to U.S. Retail net sales growth in the third quarter included new items such as Yoplait Greek 100 yogurt.

“This acquisition further demonstrates Glanbia’s commitment to innovation and to the long-term sustainability of dairy in Idaho,” said Jeff Williams, President and CEO of Glanbia Foods. “This manufacturing plant represents the ‘right size’ cheese plant that will allow us to take new product development out of our Cheese Innovation Center to commercial scale in a reduced time cycle,” continued Williams.  

Fonterra Chief Executive Officer Theo Spierings said the new plant would enable the co-operative to meet growing demand for UHT products in Asia. “The new plant will enable us to increase our UHT production by 100% over the next few years. 

Saputo Inc., Montreal, announced on March 14 that it will close its cheese manufacturing facility in Warwick, Quebec, Canada, in June 2014. 

Land O'Lakes Inc. reported 2012 sales of $14.1 billion (up 10.2% from 2011) and net earnings of $241 million (up 31%). Both are records. Additionally, three of the business segments achieved record sales, and the Crop Inputs segment had record earnings in addition to record sales.