Bongards Creameries

Bongard’s Creameries is a farmer-owned co-op that owns and operates three cheese and whey production facilities in Tennessee and Minnesota. The co-op processes over one billion pounds of milk annually and provides cheese and whey products to food services, retail stores, schools, industrial facilities, and international customers. Bongards is expanding and upgrading equipment in its manufacturing facility located in rural Perham, Minnesota. The existing equipment is outdated and not functioning efficiently, which drives up operating costs and hurts profitability. Bongards is owned by 267 member farms that rely on the co-op to purchase their milk, for which Bongards pays higher prices compared to other co-ops in the area. This expansion will enable Bongards to increase its milk purchases by 33%, paying each farm an average of $897,000 for milk. This location is in a rural distressed area with an unemployment rate that is 1.37x national average. The project will help to invigorate the local economy, as well create 22 full-time quality and accessible jobs for the people living in the community. Without NMTC financing, Bongards would not be able to complete the expansion to increase its production capacity, modernize its operations, or improve its product quality. 

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