The new owners of a Van Wert county dairy farm are planning to expand. Sam Shriver reports on how owners hope to turn things around at the Blue Stream Dairy.
Nico Olsdhoorn, checks out the dairy herd at Blue Stream Dairy. The Holland native manages more than 650 dairy cows at the facility west of Convoy in Van Wert county. The current owners of the dairy farm have filed permits with the Ohio Department of Agriculture to expand their operations, bringing in a total of 1250 milking cows, translating into more jobs.
Blue Stream Dairy was purchased at a bankruptcy sale in July of last year for 1 point 4 million dollars by the Moeller family. The previous owners couldn't compete with lower than expected milk prices and Agstar, the lender, "called the loan" when there wasn't enough assets to cover what was owed. New owner Lewie Moeller believes they can succeed where the Vreba-Hoff operation couldn't.
Moeller says he hasn't heard of any objections to the expansion so far and are working with neighbors to ease any concerns that arose from actions by the previous owners.
The public has until May 31st to provide the Ohio Department of Agriculture with written comments concerning Blue Stream's permit to install... and permit to operate the expansion.
If enough people voice their concerns, a public hearing could be held at a later date.
Moeller expects that if the permits are approved construction on a new barn could take anywhere from 90 to 120 days.
