The cows are coming to town Litchfi eld

The cows

are coming to town

Dairy cooperative thanks community with art project

BY SARAH COLBURN STAFF WRITER

LITCHFIELD – Cows will be popping up in locations throughout Litchfi eld this month. The cows, each rendered life-size and crafted from fi berglass, will be uniquely designed and painted by artists associated with area nonprofi ts.

The cows serve not only to celebrate First District Association’s 100th anniversary, they’re a community-wide fundraising project that benefi ts the entire region.

“First District is smack dab in the middle of the community, landlocked all the way around,” said Troy Gassman, engineer project manager with First District Association. “(This is) a gesture back to thank the folks for their patience.”

First District Association, he said, often has trucks coming and going and that’s especially true these last few months as the member-owned cooperative fi nishes its two-year expansion project.

The cows are a way for the community to rally together around a cause.

“People were looking forward to doing something positive,” Gassman said.

The life-size cow

Th Lit hfi ld B

PHOTOS SUBMITTED Members of the Litchfi eld Lions Club fi nish work on the cow they’re decorating for the First District Association’s Downtown Cowtown project that will ultimately raise money for local organizations.

The Litchfi eld Boy Scout Troop 3353 designed their own cow for the Downtown Cowtown project.

statues were purchased through a gallery in New Jersey that sells just about everything known to mankind – but in statue form.

“Cows are our lifeblood here, without the cow we wouldn’t be in business,” Gassman said.

The fi berglass cattle originated from the Philippines and the eight fullsize cows and 10 calves cost around $20,000. The cost was covered by the contractors working on First District Association’s expansion project; each one donated a few thousand dollars to help with the project, which will ultimately benefi t local community organizations.

Local non-profi t organizations including the Lions Club, the Rotary Club and Meeker Area Partners in Prevention, among others, partnered with local artists to decorate their cows. In the case of the Early Childhood Family Education program, the artwork on the cow was created by 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds.

No matter how the cows are adorned, and exactly who created the artwork, they’ll all be used to raise money for the organizations they represent. In August, the cows will be auctioned off and the dollars raised will go to the non-profi t who took ownership of the design.

So many organizations became interested in the cow project, First District Association had to authorize the purchase of more statues to support the community venture. They initially started by purchasing 10 or 12 and now there are 18 in total.

The Litchfi eld Downtown Council has been assisting with the project and coordinating the participating nonprofi ts as well as the locations, which are outlined on a map.

Darlene Kotelnicki is the secretary of the downtown council and helped launch the idea with First District Association as a celebration. She said it’s something families can get out and see as they return to a new normal. She’s also excited to see how the cow project could bring tourism to the area as people come to see the cows, shop, eat, enjoy the parks and the splash pad.

“It’s a promotion of our community,” she said.

Already, Gassman said, people and organizations are showing interest in buying the statues, including community organizations and milk haulers.

First District Association serves more than 720 family farms in Minnesota and a few in Wisconsin. They’re a cooperative, owned by the milk producers.

The expansion they’re currently bringing online includes three segments: a new lactose plant, a new milk receiving plant and a new cheese plant. First District Association currently processes 5.5 million pounds of milk per day and, with the expansion, will be able to process 7.5 million pounds of milk per day.

The expansion has been under discussion since 2014. The project was commissioned by the association’s board of directors, which is made up of association patrons, more specifi cally, dairy farmers.

Cows page 24

EXCLUSIVE DEALER OF EXCLUSIVE DEALER OF Automatic AGR GRii-Speed Speed HITCH HITCH

1 1 2 2 3 3

• One person operation - eliminate the • SAFER - Doesn’t require climbing need for a second hand for hook-ups on or off tractor • Simple drawbar mount Give us • Meets or exceed D.O.T requirements• PTO compatible a call! • Available for pick-ups, choppers, • Fast, reliable, few moving parts tractors, wagons, etc.

around town!

PHOTOS SUBMITTED A fl yer shows the locations around Litchfi eld that are part of Downtown Cowtow, where artistically painted fi berglass cows can be seen throughout the community and will eventually be auctioned off to raise money for local organizations.

Cows from page 23

“They’re the ones who produce the milk and they have a large voice in how we grow and what the plan is,” Gassman said. “The plan is to be one of the largest cheese producers in the Midwest.”

And, the expansion gets them there. Once the new sections come online, the plant will rival the size of one in Michigan, making it one of the largest grassroots, single-location campus plants in the Midwest.

Ashley Warren is the communications coordinator for First District Association. She said the ongoing presence in Litchfi eld is important. The association employs 185 people.

“This is where we started,” she said. “And this is where we are 100 years later.”

Troy Gassman is the engineer project manager with First District Association; Ashley Warren is the communications coordinator for First District Association.

T royGassman A shleyWarren

PROUD TO BE YOUR HOMETOWN LUMBER COMPANY SINCE 1971!