Higher milk prices help KC-based Dairy Farmers of America

Dairy Farmers of America, a Kansas City-based national milk marketing cooperative and dairy foods processor, said Tuesday it earned $43.1 million in 2014.

The profit was down nearly 19 percent from a year ago, when the group earned $53.1 million.

It reported the lower earnings despite a 39.2 percent jump in sales to $17.9 billion from $12.8 billion in 2013. Higher milk prices contributed to the revenue bump, with averages reaching $23.98 per hundredweight last year compared with $20.05 per hundredweight in 2013.

The recent totals also reflect a merger early last year with the Dairylea Cooperative in the northeastern United States and the opening of two dairy ingredient plants.

Dairy Farmers of America released the results as part of its annual meeting, which brought 1,400 members and their guests to Kansas City. It has 14,000 members on 8,000 farms in the United States.

The Kansas City-based cooperative is moving its headquarters across the state line under an agreement with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan. Dairy Farmers of America plans to build a three-story, 100,000-square-foot building in the Village West area.

Incentives tied to the move granted Dairy Farmers of America a 75 percent abatement of property taxes on the planned $30 million headquarters development for 10 years. The incentives include the reimbursement of $1 million in construction-related expenses.

The Unified Government also has advanced the timing of its plans for $4.5 million in street improvements at the site.

Dairy Farmers of America, in turn, pledged to have at least 300 full-time employees at the headquarters, with their annual wages averaging no less than $90,000. The group currently employs 325 at its current headquarters, about 20 miles away from the planned construction site.

Since its inception in 1998, the group has leased space near Kansas City International Airport.

This story was originally published March 17, 2015 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Higher milk prices help KC-based Dairy Farmers of America."