Walmart to establish dairy processing plant in Valdosta

Published Oct 12, 2023

On Oct. 11, Walmart announced plans to open a milk processing facility in Valdosta. The multinational retailer plans to break ground late this year on the $350 million facility, which will employ approximately 400 people.

The company said in a release that the facility would use locally sourced ingredients and will provide gallon, half-gallon, whole, 2%, 1%, skim and 1% chocolate milk to 750 Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations across the Southeast.

“This new, state-of-the-art facility will not only bring jobs and opportunity to the Valdosta area, it will enable our dairy farmers to produce more goods from start to finish right here in Georgia – sending a larger share of the retail dollar back to the family farm and giving Georgia consumers access to the freshest dairy products possible,” said Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper. “This is a great victory for Valdosta-Lowndes County, the state of Georgia, and our No. 1 industry – agriculture.”

Walmart’s new facility will be located on Inner Perimeter Road in Valdosta, and operations are expected to begin in late 2025. The company will be hiring for positions in production, engineering, quality, food safety, warehouse operations, maintenance, drivers, and more.

Food and fiber production and related industries represented $73.2 billion in contributions to Georgia’s economy and more than 340,800 jobs in 2021, according to the University of Georgia Ag Snapshots 2023. Georgia Milk Producers reports that Georgia ranked as the top milk producing state in the Southeast in 2022, with the dairy sector contributing close to $2.5 billion to Georgia’s economy.

Complementing the state’s agriculture and food processing industries, Georgia offers 178 million cubic feet of cold storage space. Logistics and infrastructure stemming from Georgia’s already central location in the southeastern U.S. allow companies to quickly and efficiently move products in and out of the state.

Source: Georgia Farm Bureau