Posted on: Tuesday, August 28, 2001

Meadow Gold closing Waimanalo dairy farm

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Meadow Gold Dairies Hawai'i will shut down its dairy operation at its Waimanalo farm by the end of the year, the company said in a letter to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Twenty-six employees will lose their jobs as a result of the shutdown, which will occur on or before Dec. 31, Glenn Muranaka, company president and general manager, said in the letter.

Of the 26, 19 are members of Hawai'i Teamsters Local 996 and seven are salaried employees. Meadow Gold has 301 employees, Muranaka said in the letter.

Meadow Gold has been moving from milk production to milk processing, and the Waimanalo property is its last farm.

The company is talking with the University of Hawai'i to transfer its facility and land lease for the 360-acre farm to the university's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.