Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc., also known as UNC Dairy, is an American dairy cooperative located in Buffalo, New York. Products provided by the cooperative include milk, cream, butter, yogurt, half and half, juices, egg nog, cottage cheese, sour cream, ice cream mix and chip dips. Upstate Niagara Cooperative is owned by farmers throughout western New York State.
Primary production facilities are located in Buffalo, West Seneca, Batavia, Syracuse, the North Country, and in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.Upstate Niagara Cooperative (Our History), Retrieved Feb. 9, 2015. A plant was also located in Manchester, New York, but has since closed. It was formerly owned by Dairy Center of the Finger Lakes before being purchased by the cooperative in 1979.Village of Manchester (Timeline 1967-1992) , Retrieved Feb. 9, 2015.
Brands The family of brands for Upstate Niagara Cooperative: Upstate Farms (formerly Upstate Milk) Upstate Farms Food Services Bison Foods Intense Milk Crave O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative, Inc. (About Us), Retrieved Oct. 27, 2021. Valley Farms Dairy (Williamsport, Pennsylvania)
History The cooperative was started in 1965, originally known as Upstate Farms Cooperative. It was changed to the current name in 2006 when the business merged with longtime dairy producer Niagara Milk Producers Cooperative, Inc. of Niagara Falls, New York.Bloomberg (Company Overview of Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc.), Retrieved Feb. 9, 2015.Community-Wealth.org (Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc.), Retrieved Feb. 9, 2015.
Upstate Niagara Cooperative acquired Bison Foods Company of Buffalo in 1983, a producer of cottage cheese, sour cream, chip dips and yogurt.
In 2011, Upstate Niagara Cooperative purchased a dairy plant in North Lawrence, New York from Healthy Food Holdings. The facility, built in 1900, has been through numerous owners including Borden, National Dairy Products Corporation and Kraft. It was established by the cooperative as North Country Dairy, LLC, which continues to produce yogurt as it has been doing since 1969.Upstate Niagara Cooperative (North Country Dairy, LLC), Retrieved Feb. 9, 2015.
In 2025, the company closed their Rochester, New York fluid milk plant, but also broke ground on a large expansion at the cultured products plant in West Seneca.Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (Rochester Milk Plant to Close), Retrieved Dec 16, 2015.Buffalo Business First (West Seneca Project Begins After Delays), Retrieved Dec. 16, 2015.
References
External links Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc. (Official Website)