More cheese please: Cows Creamery gets $2.6M from feds to expand processing

Cows Creamery on P.E.I.is getting funding from the federal government to expand its processing capacity for cheese.

Island MPs Lawrence MacAulay and Sean Casey announced Thursday that Cows will get up to $1.8 million in funding from the Dairy Processing Investment Fund, along with a $800,000 loan from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

The first stage of the expansion, for 20,000 square feet, already got underway earlier this year. Now an additional 5,000 square feet will be added.

The expansion will increase freezer, cooler and dry storage space and modernize cheese production lines, Cows vice president Chad Heron said in a news release.

The expansion is expected to create 15 new jobs by 2023, the release said.

"This will allow Cows to fulfill larger and more frequent orders with increased efficiency, while also setting a solid foundation for continued growth of new products and customers," Heron said.

Higher demand for milk

The expansion will result in lower production costs and more demand for milk from Island dairy producers, the release said.

MacAulay, the federal agriculture minister, has been touring the countrymeetingwith farmers, processors and industry leaders.

Cows is the 14th Canadian dairy processor to receive money from the investment fund, the release said. The companywas founded in 1983 and began producing cheesein 2007.

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