Farmers who belong to a 100-year-old dairy cooperative based in Vermont have voted overwhelmingly in favor of merging with a large national dairy cooperative.
The more than 300-member St. Albans cooperative on Monday voted to merge with Dairy Farmers of America based in Kansas City, Kansas.
The move comes as dairy farmers have been struggling with a prolonged period of low milk prices that have forced some out of the business. St. Albans co-op officials say the co-op lost 40 farms last year and gained about 20 this year.
DFA has promised to invest millions to help the co-op upgrade its Vermont assets, including a processing plant and a milk hauling business.
The St. Albans Cooperative has dairy farmers in Vermont, New Hampshire and New York.
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