Cloverland's got milk — and more security, auditing

Baltimore's sole dairy processor tightens safety, sanitation measures to win highest industry rating

One of Cloverland's biggest annual expenses is water and cleaning. The plant's steel pipes and tanks, sprawling across several acres, have to be cleaned and sanitized about every 24 hours. The plant uses millions of gallons of water a year and, because of high wastewater cleanup charges from the city, built its own wastewater treatment facility a few years ago, for $1.9 million.

"Everything has to be documented," Kennedy said. "If you clean something, you have to document it."

In the bottling area, heavy steel equipment can fill bottles with milk at a pace of 110 gallons per minute, Kennedy said.

Because of drought and higher cow feed prices, Kemp and his managers at Cloverland see the potential for higher milk prices in coming months. Milk price data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that the wholesale prices of whole milk started climbing last month.

A federal Department of Agriculture economist forecasted Thursday that milk production next year will decline because of this year's drought, as dairy farmers thin their herds. The price of milk will climb through this year but remain below 2011 prices, according to the USDA.

Back in the pasteurization room, each time someone enters, they must dip their shoes in a shallow tub of liquid sanitizer and power-wash their hands with hot water for 30 seconds. It's another part of keeping the milk safe.

"I probably wash my hands the most out of everybody every day," Kennedy said.

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