WILLIAMSPORT, Ind. — There will be one dairy cow practically for every two people in a remote area of western Indiana, where the economy is built predominantly on agriculture.

A 4,500-head dairy farm was approved Dec. 5 in Warren County, between the Illinois state line and Wabash River. Willow Dairy, which has other dairy farms in Minnesota, will house the animals inside six barns on 134 acres used previously for corn and soybeans, said Jim Ridgeway, an officer with the company headquartered in Annandale, Minn.

The company already has a 3,500-head dairy farm in Benton County, just eight miles from the new site, located five miles west of Indiana 63 where ground is starting to be prepared for construction. Ridgeway said the company is expanding its operation to meet demand and the location was chosen so personnel already in place at the Benton County site can help oversee the new operation to save on labor costs.

“We can share management,” he explained.

He also cited other cost savings for Willow Dairy for putting up its second dairy farm in the state. “Indiana is a very good place to do business.”

Steve Eberly, executive director of the Warren County Local Economic Development Corp., said the dairy farm will be a supplier for a Dannon Yogurt operation in central Ohio and employ full-time about 40 people, including three management positions. The average wage will be $11-$12 dollars an hour, he said.

The dairy cows will be fed silage to be grown under a lease with other landowners on 3,000 acres probably within a 20-mile radius of the farm. “We’re very excited at the opportunity to diversify markets for our local farmers,” said Eberly, who’s also a Warren County commissioner.

The site is already zoned for agriculture but the development plans required a special exception because of the number of animals to be on the land. Eberly said the nearest residence is about a quarter-mile away and drainage strategies presented by the company will actually reduce storm runoff from the site.

The development also includes a 12-month storage capacity for manure that will be dried and knifed into the soil at farms in the area wanting the nutrient-rich material.

Eberly said being able to store manure for such a long period allows the farm to wait for ideal weather conditions before applying it to the soil, another strategy for preserving the quality of storm runoff.

Ridgeway said the goal is for the farm, operating 24 hours a day, to be up and running by the middle of July and he expects a noticeable economic impact, given statistics that show an $8 million injection for every 1,000 head of dairy cattle on such farms.

Willow Dairy does not have any farms in any of the other 48 states, but is connected to a dairy operation in South Dakota.

According to 2010 U.S Census figures, the population of Warren and Benton counties were nearly equal, with the number of residents combined at just over 17,000.

Eberly said the operation is a natural for such a rural, agriculture-dominated economy.

“It’s a tremendous fit. The operators have bent over backwards to meet with adjoining landowners to make sure everybody knows what their scope is, and they’ve had an excellent track record over in Benton County,” he explained.

Originally, the dairy farm in Benton County was supposed to open in 2010 but never did because of financial problems with the owner, who sold it to Willow Dairy in 2012.

According to figures provided by the USDA, Indiana in 2013 was 14th in milk production but from 2008-13 was among the states with the largest increases in milk output. Approximately 201 billion pounds of milk were produced last year nationwide, according to the USDA.