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The World of DFA Milk Haulers
 Gary, Steve, Andy, Jim and Glenn Guenther, have carried on the family business since 1926. |
Transporting America’s milk supply from farm to market is a complicated task requiring an immense fleet of trucks, experienced drivers, skillful scheduling and careful attention to detail. Largely unnoticed by consumers, milk haulers are as much a part of todays dairy farm as the veterinarian, the nutritionist, even the cows themselves.
Seven days a week, 365 days a year, employees of Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. direct the movement of approximately 3,500 truckloads of milk from dairy farms to processing plants. All across the United States, this effort requires a transportation network covering 48 states operating 24 hours a day.
Most of the trucks and drivers required to move the milk marketed by DFA are supplied and employed by independent contractors. In DFA’s Southeast Area alone, a network of 145 contract haulers delivers milk to 64 different customers. In other areas of the country, DFA Areas operate their own fleets of tanker trucks and drivers. DFA’s Mountain Area, for example, owns some 150 tractors and 300 bulk trailers used to transport the majority of its milk supply, but also relies on contract haulers in some areas.
The DFA transportation network also includes haulers contracted to move milk from areas with excess milk production to areas where regional production cannot keep pace with growing consumer demand. Grayson Robinson, Southeast area supervisor, notes that the Southeast Area relies year-round on milk shipped in from other parts of the country.
More than just drivers
The milk haulers who pull in to the farm each day are licensed, experienced drivers whose responsibilities extend well beyond collecting milk. Glenn Wallace, chief operating officer for DFA’s Mideast Area, explains:
“Milk haulers are a critical part of the marketing channel in the dairy business, with a myriad of responsibilities,” Wallace says. “In addition to adhering to the DOT (U.S. Department of Transportation) rules each time they arrive at the farm, the driver is responsible for taking a stick reading of the volume of milk in the bulk tank, which equates to a specific number of pounds of milk for that type of tank, and for making certain the milk is in the proper temperature range.
“Before they pull samples for component (butterfat, protein) testing, it’s their job to turn on the tank agitator to make certain the butterfat is in suspension,” Wallace adds. “We then ask them to take the samples out of the barn to visually inspect the color of the milk, and smell them to make sure there’s no off-odor, before they store the samples in an ice chest. And then, after the milk has been transferred to the tanker, it’s the driver’s responsibility to start the clean-in-place process to sanitize the farmer’s bulk tank.”