Green Bay, Wis.-based Schreiber Foods Inc. will close a cream cheese processing facility in north St. Louis that was formerly part of Raskas Foods, which Schreiber acquired in 2002. The closure, planned for this summer, will impact 220 employees. Production will gradually move to other facilities. Schreiber reports the plant, which is leased, was in need of extensive renovations to improve its operating margins.

Baraboo, Wis.-based Foremost Farms USA closed its 10th year of operation at the end of 2004 with all-time highs in sales and earnings. New income after taxes was $28.3 million, compared to $7.6 million in 2003. The cooperative posted sales of $1.4 billion, compared to $1.2 billion in 2003.

In a year that served declining light ice cream sales for most manufacturers, Oakland, Calif.-based Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Holdings Inc. has announced a 68 percent sales growth of its light ice cream business in 2004 with the launch of Dreyer’s Slow Churned™ Light Ice Cream, an improved version of Dreyer’s top-selling ice cream formally called Dreyer’s Grand Light®.

San Antonio-based H.E. Butt Grocery Co. (H-E-B) has partnered with Grupo Industrial Lala, the largest dairy producer in Mexico, to manufacture and sell exclusively in its stores milk, chocolate milk, yogurt and sour cream. The brand is already in about 106 H-E-B stores. The grocer is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Dairy Farmers of America Inc. (DFA), has reported financial results for 2004 that include record payments to members, record revenues and a sixth consecutive year of member patronage payouts. For the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2004, DFA payments to members increased 29 percent to a record $5.8 billion, up from $4.5 billion in 2003. DFA also reported record revenues of $8.49 billion on sales, up from $6.93 billion in 2003, for an increase of 23 percent. DFA marketed 57.2 billion pounds of milk for member and non-member dairy farmers in 2004.

Saputo Inc., Canada, has entered into an agreement to acquire from Fromage Cote S.A. and Distributions Kingsey Inc. the manufacturing, marketing and distribution activities for the company’s pressed cheddar and cheddar cheese curd, Swiss-type cheese and other specialty cheeses sold under the brand names Kingsey, Princesse, Sir Laurier d’Arthabaska and Du Village de Warwick. The transaction is anticipated to close this month.

Kemps plans to move its headquarters from Minneapolis to St. Paul, Minn. The move will unite under one roof the 110 corporate employees who are currently working in two offices in Minneapolis; more than 200 plant and distribution workers will remain at the company’s facilities in Minneapolis. To facilitate the move of its administrative staff, Kemps — purchased last year by HP Hood — is expected to seek a grant of up to $200,000 through St. Paul Strategic Investment Fund, which is aimed at luring companies to the city.

West Valley City, Utah-based Winder Dairy has received a substantial investment from two private investment firms, Dolphin II and Peterson Partners. The new partnership will allow Winder Dairy to expand its operations within its current markets and to the western United States, as well as offer an expanded product line, the company says.