By Madeline Hanscom
Chobani and Cornell CALS’ Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) began a partnership in 2020 seeking to develop, test, and incentivize use of sustainability indicators for dairy farms. Recently, NMSP and PRO-DAIRY interns had the opportunity to tour the Chobani plant in New Berlin, New York. Read on to see what they learned about Chobani’s production process, values, community engagement efforts, and sustainability mission.
Chobani’s New Berlin plant prioritizes producing milk-based Greek-style yogurts and locally sources millions of pounds of milk per week from over 600 dairy farms. Donning personal protective equipment, Cornell CALS’ Nutrient Management Spear Program interns toured this plant on June 29, 2023 to see firsthand how yogurt is produced, from cow to cup.
Isaac Adams, Chobani training manager, and Roberta Osborne, Chobani director of farms and sustainability, led the tour. They explained the yogurt production process, from milk collection to cup assembly, quality-control checkpoints, storage, and shipment.
“It was incredible to see the scale of production, the size of the warehouse storage, and the speed with which yogurt cups were filled,” noted Gretchen Wittmeyer, CALS agricultural sciences student and Cornell Cooperative Extension and NMSP summer intern.
The NMSP team is working to develop and incentivize use of key sustainability performance indicators for dairy farms. Their partnership with Chobani, local funding organizations, and dairy farmers in New York help the team identify practical strategies that farms can use to improve their nutrient use, mitigate their carbon footprint, and demonstrate progress.
“When Chobani approached me about working together on the dairy sustainability project, I did not hesitate to say yes,” said Quirine Ketterings, NMSP director and professor of nutrient management in the Cornell CALS Department of Animal Science.
Olivia Godber, research associate with NMSP and lead for the dairy sustainability project, added: “We’ve been working with Chobani for several years now, and I’ve always been impressed with their proactive yet caring approach to sustainability at the farm level. After this visit, it is clear those values continue throughout the whole production chain and with every individual involved.”
Following the tour, Domniki Demetriadou and Morgan VanAlstine of the Chobani human resources team met with the interns to discuss company culture and employment opportunities. “We have opportunities for every field here, no matter what your background is,” said Demetriadou. “We have a place for you, from those who are just starting out in the workforce with minimal education, as well as those who went to college for engineering, agriculture, business and likewise, Chobani employs people of all backgrounds,” Van Alstine added.
“Meeting with Roberta has taught me a lot about how important dairy sustainability is from the consumer and business standpoint,” said Karolyn Auer, CALS animal science student and dairy sustainability intern with NMSP this summer.
Chobani emphasized their inclusive, community-driven culture, which is led by the company’s owner Hamdi Ulukaya. His background as an immigrant entrepreneur is a driving factor behind his diverse workforce and community engagement efforts. Chobani has given back to the New Berlin community in many ways: reinvigorating an old baseball field, contributing to the fire station, and establishing a community-building center where all individuals are welcome to participate in activities and gatherings.
“It's rewarding to partner with a company that has such a positive impact in New York,” said Agustin Olivo, NMSP Ph.D. student working on the Chobani-funded dairy sustainability project.
As student interns wrap up their summer with NMSP, the visit to the Chobani plant in New Berlin made an impression. “It was amazing to be able to see firsthand how strong the company culture is at Chobani,” said Lexi Valachovic, an information science student at Cornell. “It was refreshing and encouraging to hear of all the great management practices that are being pursued to help the environment and give back to the community.”
Source : cornell.edu