Venerable dairy giant Borden files for bankruptcy

Borden files for bankruptcy
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/NBC News)

Borden Dairy Co., one of the oldest and largest milk producers in the United States, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, citing a dropping demand for cow's milk, rising costs for raw milk, and its own debt and pension obligations. The nation's largest milk producer, Dean Foods, filed for bankruptcy protection in November. Both companies are based in Dallas.

Borden traces its roots back to 1857, when Gail Borden developed the first successful method of making commercially viable condensed milk and incorporated in upstate New York a few years later to churn out canned milk for the Union Army, CNN reports. The company changed its name to Borden Dairy Co. in 1919 and introduced its iconic mascot, Elsie the Cow, in 1936. Borden said it plans to continue operations during the bankruptcy process but did not say if its endgame is liquidation or continuing as a dairy business. The company employs about 3,300 people.

In its filing, Borden noted that 2,700 U.S. family dairy farms went out of business last year, and 94,000 have ceased milk production since 1992.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.