A fancy groundbreaking ceremony is happening today in Boone for a new plant that’s gonna make Daisy Brand sour cream and cottage cheese. This whopping $676 million project is gonna give jobs to over 250 people eventually. “This is like, our biggest project ever,” said Ben Sokolsky, Daisy Brand’s president.
The milk for the plant is gonna come only from Marshall Ridge Farms in State Center nearby, which is like, a huge dairy farm in Iowa. They’re gonna up their cow count to 7000 by the time the Daisy plant opens in like, late 2028 or early 2029. “Milk is like, super important for all of this to happen,” Sokolsky mentioned at a luncheon in Boone.
Dan Culhane, the boss of the Ames Regional Alliance, was the host of the event. “Economic development is like, always going on in our communities, but not always on this big of a scale,” Culhane said. “So, like, that’s what we’re celebrating today.”
Boone Mayor Elijah Stines called it a game-changing project that will not only shake up Boone’s economy but the whole region. “The future is looking brighter for Daisy Brands, Boone, and Iowa because of this investment,” Stines added.
Governor Kim Reynolds gave props to all the groups and peeps who made the deal with Daisy happen. “This almost $700 million investment is more than just a number. It’s like, real opportunity. It means tons of new jobs, a bigger tax base, and a boost for local businesses, schools, and family farms,” Reynolds explained. “It’s kickstarting construction with plans for housing and hospitality projects already in the works.”
Daisy Brand currently has plants in Texas, Arizona, and Ohio. “Today is a big ol’ scoop of good news and we should all be pumped about it,” State Ag Secretary Mike Naig joked, making the crowd laugh as he quoted a line from a Daisy sour cream commercial.
Over half of the sour cream sold in the US is Daisy Brand, and the company’s president hinted at major growth in cottage cheese sales last year. Data from 2024 in the retail food industry shows that all brands of cottage cheese saw a 16% increase in sales.
The State of Iowa is dishing out a $7 million package of economic development incentives for the Boone plant. The Iowa DOT is chipping in $3 million to extend roads, put in a traffic signal, and build a roundabout on Highway 30 near the plant site. The city is covering the remaining $750,000 cost of road improvements to handle truck traffic going in and out of the Daisy Brand plant.
So, like, this groundbreaking event in Boone is a big deal that’s gonna shake things up in a major way. Not really sure why this matters, but hey, it’s happening, so we might as well roll with it. Let’s see what this plant can do for the community in the coming years.
