Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) announced Nov. 18 that it would acquire 100% ownership of DairiConcepts, the cooperative’s joint venture with Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd.

Fonterra and DFA have partnered in DairiConcepts as equal owners since 2000 when the joint venture was formed. DairiConcepts plays a key role in DFA’s strategy to further grow its ingredients division and extend its global marketing outreach, but was viewed as a non-core component of Fonterra’s strategy. The decision was made by both DFA and Fonterra to consolidate ownership, an announcement said.

"Our relationship with Fonterra remains strong," Rick Smith, DFA president and chief executive officer, said. "DairiConcepts has historically generated strong returns for our farmer-owners, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen the business and expand markets for our members’ milk."

Fonterra will remain a key customer of DairiConcepts, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of DFA once the sale is final on Dec. 31.

DairiConcepts is a manufacturer of cheese, dairy ingredients and dairy flavor systems with eight facilities across the U.S. It works with customers both in the U.S. and around the world as a value-added supplier, committed to creating appropriate lower-cost, quality dairy ingredient solutions.

DFA is a national dairy marketing cooperative that serves and is owned by more than 14,000 members on more than 8,000 farms in 48 states. DFA also is one of the country’s most diversified manufacturers of dairy products, food components and ingredients and is a leader in formulating and packaging shelf-stable dairy products.