MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's last cheese plant is closing.
Owner and manager Virgil Johnson says dwindling supplies of milk have made it difficult for Dakota Country Cheese in Mandan to operate. He says the cheese market also has gone in the tank.
Johnson says Saturday will be the last day the plant will be picking up milk, and the last cheese will be made Monday. About two dozen people work at the plant.
The closure will leave 32 farmers looking for a new market for their milk. Wayne Carlson, who heads the livestock division at the state Agriculture Department, says the farmers might be able to hook up with two cooperatives in the region that are looking for additional customers.
