Proximity to markets and supply has made central New York a key location in Greek yogurt production. With 1,400 new jobs created by two yogurt makers alone, Chobani and FAGE USA have changed the economic landscape for the region and provided a new outlet for hundreds of dairy farms in the state and nearby areas.  Chobani was founded by an entrepreneur and had only five employees in 2007, but with a quick rise to prominence now employs 1,000 in central New York and consumes 4.5 million pounds of milk per day.  FAGE’s presence in rural New York, on the other hand, is the result of foreign direct investment as the Greek company decided to establish a North American presence rather than continue to export product from Greece.

Regardless of their differing origins, both firms, and others entering the field, rely on access to transportation and logistics systems to move goods, services, and people in a timely and cost-effective manner.  As the report says, “If ‘location, location, location’ is the mantra of real estate, ‘location, transportation, and logistics’ is the driving force in economic development.”

Read the report at http://www.nado.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/yogurt.pdf.

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Natural Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale: Economic Opportunities and Infrastructure Challenges.

(May 2010, 16 pages): View the report (PDF)