NU Business Students Tour Upstate Niagara Cooperative

On Nov. 5, 2024, 22 students in Niagara University's Holzschuh College of Business Administration got a first-hand look at the production facilities at Upstate Niagara Cooperative, a farmer-owned food and beverage company in West Seneca, N.Y., which has been producing award-winning, high-quality dairy products since 1971.

The students were part of Dr. Fernando Naranjo's food industry supply chain management and international management courses, and many of them were international students from the U.K., Pakistan, Vietnam, France, South Korea, and Canada.

Accompanied by several faculty members, the students learned about the cooperative's "Farm to Fridge" process through presentations, tours, and tastings of some of the items it produces, which include milk, cream, flavored milk, shelf stable ready-to-drink beverages, yogurt, dip, sour cream, cottage cheese, canned evaporated milk, and ice cream mix products marketed under the Upstate Farms®, Bison®, Intense Milk®, Milk for Life®, Spring Farms®, Gold Cow® and Valley Farms® brands, in addition to numerous contract and retail customer labels.

Jiwoo Yang, an international exchange student from Seoul, Korea, enjoyed seeing how "the concepts and theories learned in class were applied as they were," while Minh Le, an international exchange student from Hai Duong, Vietnam, was especially impressed by the robotic systems and "their incredible precision and speed."

"The robots performed tasks exactly, from pouring milk into the cans to consistently packaging, all while maintaining a rapid pace," Le said. "It was fascinating to see how quickly they completed each task with quality. Robots not only improve efficiency, but also demonstrate the factory's advancement in nourishing life."

The students also saw how the items were packaged under the cooperative's own label and for companies like Target, Walmart, Wegmans, and Tops, and enjoyed lunch with Upstate employees, including NU alumni Madison Lindsay, '19, MBA'20, assistant marketing manager, and Kelly (Timm) Wells, '97, chief human resources officer. Marty Hurley, senior vice president of supply chain; Mark Serling, senior vice president, branded milk sales; Betsy Drewniak, director of marketing; Betty Colton, R&D associate technical services manager; and Phil Massey, West Seneca plant manager, were also on hand to talk with the students.

"I enjoyed seeing the production process firsthand and learning about the cooperative's commitment to quality and sustainability," said Dean Taylor, a junior management major from Oshawa, Ontario. "Hearing about the steps taken to ensure freshness and safety from farm to table was very interesting. This visit gave me a much deeper appreciation for the dairy industry and the role of cooperatives in supporting local farmers."

"Being at Upstate Farms in person was exciting, and it gave me a real understanding of how their supply chain works," said Cassandra Hickey, a junior finance major from Tonawanda, N.Y. "Seeing the operations firsthand helped me appreciate the scale, coordination, and effort involved at each step."

"The visit to Upstate Niagara Cooperative Cultured Facility allowed our students to enhance their understanding of the operation of a sophisticated dairy plant," said Dr. Naranjo. "This tour illustrated the concepts discussed in our agrifood supply chain class specific to the dairy sector and cultured dairy products, so our students observed pasteurization, homogenization, fermentation, flavoring, and packaging processes in action. Also, the tour included a preliminary talk about the growth of the dairy industry and potential opportunities for internships in the company."

Dr. Kilho Shin, assistant professor of management; Dr. Dennis Nsafoah, assistant professor of finance and economics; Dr. Jim Kling, associate professor of management; and Phil Catanese, director of centers and college outreach, also accompanied the students on the visit.

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