DAIRY ASSOCIATION

Inscription

DAIRY ASSOCIATION
1916 FARMERS UNIFIED AS SKAGIT
CO. DAIRYMEN’S ASSOC. FIRST
PRES. W. J. KNUTZEN. SUPPLIER
OF DARIGOLD MILK PLANT FROM
1921 UNTIL CLOSED CA. 1969.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2026

In 1916, dairy farmers in Skagit County, Washington, began holding meetings to discuss building a processing plant for condensed milk, which had recently become a valuable commodity. To accomplish this, they formed the Skagit County Dairymen’s Association with over 1,000 initial members. The association aimed to market dairy products and secure fair, profitable milk prices. Joining dairymen granted the association exclusive rights to sell their milk, allowing the co-op to allocate supply to whichever production needs arose. By 1921, the association was ready to construct its milk processing plant in Burlington, Washington, on five acres donated by prominent local resident J. H. Knutzen.

The cooperative plant opened in the fall of 1921. At its dedication, leaders reported construction costs of $250,000 and daily output already reaching 2,000 pounds of butter and 1,350 pounds of cheese, both marketed under the brand name Darigold. At the time, the association comprised 800 members and 9,000 cows. Profits were distributed based on the volume of milk each farmer contributed rather than stock ownership, though members received one share of stock per cow owned.

William J. Knutzen served as association president for decades. Alongside his co-op leadership, he served as a Washington state senator from 1927 to 1937 and as president of the First National Bank of Mount Vernon. Knutzen also served on the Washington State Dairy Commission, presided over the United Dairymen’s Association, and sat on the board of Consolidated Dairy Products, Inc.—the organization best known by its commercial brand name, Darigold.

The Burlington plant achieved record-breaking output through much of the late 1920s, driven by strong demand for its butter, condensed milk, and powdered milk. Although demand crashed during the 1930s and created severe overproduction, the cooperative managed to survive the Great Depression.

Because farmers owned processing facilities through regional co-ops across the state, they could process their raw milk rather than discard it, though selling the finished goods required aggressive marketing. Following World War II, new regulations for pasteurization and milk grading made small-scale facilities financially unviable, kicking off a broad era of industry consolidation.

In 1961, the Skagit County Dairymen’s Association merged with several other regional co-ops to form the Northwest Dairymen’s Association. Northwest and 13 other cooperatives across Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho formed the United Dairymen’s Association, which managed Consolidated Dairy Products and its branch facilities.

The Burlington branch plant continued operating until ongoing regional consolidation rendered it obsolete, closing around 1969. In 1971, the property was purchased for use as a greenhouse facility before being redeveloped into an industrial park, during which the structure caught fire in 1974. In 1975, while the building was being used for storage by a sheetrock company, federal agents discovered a 150-gallon illegal moonshine still inside. The former Darigold building was eventually demolished, and the property serves as the site of the city’s fire station as of 2026.