Cheese whiz! Dalhart cheese to weigh 1M pounds daily

DALHART, DALLAM COUNTY – Hilmar Cheese will push its production over 1 million pounds of cheese per day when its newest expansion is finished in early 2015. The plant processes almost 200 tankers of milk daily — that will go up to almost 240.

The growth will add to the facility’s ability to receive milk, cold storage and processing equipment for making 640-pound blocks of cheese that go to processors, including private-label and national brands.

Denise Skidmore, director of public relations for the company, said in January during another expansion Hilmar was on track to have invested at least $190 million in the Dalhart plant in ten years.

The expanded plant will require ten to 15 more workers, bringing the workforce to more than 420.

In addition to cheese, the plant processes milk for whey proteins used for infant formula and other food products as sources of protein. It produces lactose as well.

Hilmar has benefited from various economic development incentives from the Texas Enterprise Fund, the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. and various other local and state entities.

Since arriving in the Panhandle in 2005, Hilmar has received grants, tax exemptions, abatements and credits that total to about $45 million.