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Darigold Inc. and the Northwest Dairy Association (NDA) have announced the appointment of new board member Linda Massman, effective April 1, 2021. “The Northwest Dairy Association and Darigold could not have found a better fit for our board as we work toward our vision of leading dairy forward,” said Allan Huttema, board chair of the Northwest Dairy Association. “Our organization has many opportunities ahead of us to be leaders of innovation in the dairy business and we know Linda will contribute great insights to help us along that path.”
Today we join millions of women around the world and their allies to stand up for gender equality and celebrate the women in our personal and professional lives. Pictured here is Alexa Martin, the head of Women Empowered & Engaged (WE2), Darigold's employee resource group devoted to representing an equal and shared voice for our talented women. WE2 provides valuable resources that empower women to succeed, grow in their careers and engage community partners committed to female leadership. Alexa has led this year's internal #IWD2021 programming, which includes a keynote presentation today by Irma Valdivia of Jalapeños Bar & Grill restaurants in Idaho's #TreasureValley. To all the women of #Darigold and the #NorthwestDairyAssociation: we see you, we hear you and we honor you. #choosetochallenge #we2darigold
We’ve launched a new employee resource group! POC A will assist Darigold in driving an inclusive organizational culture that identifies value in persons of diverse cultural backgrounds. The POC A employee resource group will bring together people of diverse backgrounds to share ideas, help accomplish business goals and increase employee engagement. Our goal is to be an employer of choice, developing the best talent.
Darigold is now the #1 family-owned business with headquarters in Washington, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. Our 350 farm families (across the Northwest) are proud producers of about 10 billion pounds of local milk annually that we then turn into all the delicious Darigold products you love. We couldn't be prouder of this recognition, especially given how tumultuous the last year has been for everyone.
Rachel Albertson isn’t the kind of person to allow fear to rule her life. For example, during peak pandemic last year, she took up a new sport — rock climbing — even though she's scared of heights. One of the environmental health and safety managers at Darigold’s Boise processing plant, she experienced numerous challenges and discomforts last year, including the various protocols put in place to keep the coronavirus at bay. "It's not always fun, but it's necessary,” she says, “and it's understood that we're protecting our employees and their families." The need for safety regulations has been amplified by the construction project currently underway at the plant. The Boise bottle expansion project — which involves a major capacity expansion — consumes Rachel's day. "It's been a wonderful team effort,” she says, “and I'm very proud to be a part of the major changes." The Boise plant expansion she is helping to execute will not only generate new jobs, but result in positive environmental benefits too, including reductions in energy and water use, plastic and corrugated material.
“Darigold is proud to offer a new local, organic milk option and is excited about the FIT brand extension,” said Duane Naluai, President of Darigold’s consumer products. “Our customers not only expect superior quality nutrition and great taste from all our dairy products, but demand for locally-sourced certified organic products is growing."
Our CEO Stan Ryan recently met with Megan Ferland, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, at their camp facilities in Carnation, Washington. As the two Pacific Northwest leaders sat around a campfire, they discussed everything from how outdoor activities foster leadership and the importance of community engagement to environmental stewardship. Darigold was a key sponsor of this year’s virtual Glamp programming — and proudly so. This is what Megan said of the company’s ongoing relationship: “Partnerships like we have with Darigold are absolutely crucial for the Girl Scouts of Western Washington all the time. But they have never been as critical as they are today, looking at all the uncertainties we’re facing right now.”
Marty Portmann’s family has been in the dairy business since the 1920s. Senior production and load out manager at the Darigold Rainier facility, he is beloved by all who meet him — largely because of his great attitude. This he attributes in part to a serious motorcycle accident he had at 19. It was so serious, he was pronounced dead at the scene though Harborview hospital staff eventually stitched his broken body back together again. "A bad day at work," says Marty, "is always better than being dead." Of course, he still faces challenges. The manager of 109 employees says the plant’s production schedule is staffed 20 hours a day to keep milk flowing. Being able to do this in the middle of a pandemic has been particularly challenging, he says, but also successful. He says while other dairy processors around the U.S. were sadly forced to dump milk, Darigold didn't. "With my team,” he says, “I don't have to solve the 'why complex' because they are self-driven.”
Today, Darigold, Inc. announced organizational changes designed to accelerate the long-term transformational strategy of the Northwest farmer-owned cooperative's global ingredients business. In 2018 Darigold finalized a 10-year transformation and growth strategy which included a substantial series of capital investments, including the construction of a new large-scale global ingredients plant.
Royal Dairy in Washington is taking the equivalent of 6,500 cars off the road each year with their worm-powered wastewater filtration system. Watch the video to learn more about how Darigold is working towards it's goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
