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14 © Copyright Powder & Bulk Engineering 2020 Mid-American Dairymen, Springfi eld, Mo, is a coop- erative comprising 18,000 family farms. The cooperative makes various dairy products at numerous plants in 32 states. Products include milk, dehydrated milk, chees- es, butter, whey byproducts, dehydrated dairy-based seasonings, shelf-stable milk products like canned dips and infant formula, and many others. The dairy industry often uses nonfat milk solids for var- ious recipes. One Mid-American plant in Tennessee also uses nonfat milk powder. "We're a surplus-milk-balancing plant," says plant man- ager Jeff McNeese. "The Southeast is quickly becoming a milk-defi cit area. So we don't get any milk until all the milk bottlers' needs are satisfi ed. We're a seasonal plant; we're closed from July to November." Producer switched from 50-pound to bulk bags Like many producers who want to streamline mate- rial handling, the Tennessee plant recently made the change from receiving powder in 50-pound bags to 2,000-pound bulk bags on pallets. Forklifts transport the bulk bags to dischargers with variablespeed screw conveyors that dispense the powder. In the past, manually dispensing the powder from 50-pound bags was labor-intensive and messy. Three workers were needed to unload the bags, and the man- ual operation caused dusting. "No one really liked to lift 50-pound bags," McNeese says. "It was tiring. And the workers didn't like the messy powder." McNeese says that if workers weren't experienced at dispensing the powder, they would sometimes be cov- ered with the stuff. "If a worker didn't pour it right, he could end up looking like a snowman. It was a sticky mess." Because of the dusting, workers had to wear protective face masks. In addition, the dust drifted through the plant, making it a challenge to keep clean. The producer cleaned con- stantly to maintain sanitary standards. Adding to these challenges were costs associated with product loss from dusting as well as paper bag dispos- al. "We used about 300 bags of milk powder daily, and we had to dispose of them," McNeese says. "Recyclers didn't want the bags because they had plastic liners, so all the bags had to be landfi lled." CASE HISTORY: Producer installs a bulk bag discharger built to USDA and 3A standards for handling milk powder When a dairy products maker couldn't fi nd a discharger built to needed standards , they had one made.