Walmart plans to build a $350 million milk-processing plant in Georgia as it joins other retailers in trying to better control its supply chain and rein in costs for a consumer grocery staple.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based discount chain, the biggest U.S. retailer, on Wednesday said it will construct a dairy facility in Valdosta in the southern part of the Peach State. The roughly 300,000-square-foot plant, expected to create 400 jobs, is designed to provide milk throughout Georgia and neighboring states, serving more than 750 Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs in the Southeast region.

Walmart and another giant in its sector, the Cincinnati-based grocery chain Kroger, have been taking control of their dairy goods sourcing, supply chain and production to keep prices down. The price of a gallon of milk, a price-sensitive household staple, has become an informal barometer of inflation and rising grocery costs.

Kroger has operated its own dairies for some time. Last year, the grocer announced it was investing $70 million to update a large dairy in Ohio so it could process fresh milk that doesn’t need to be refrigerated. In turn, Walmart has been constructing milk-processing facilities across the country so it can become less dependent on outside dairies and suppliers.

Walmart continues "to make strides to increase surety of supply for our customers grocery essentials,” Bruce Heckman, Walmart vice president of manufacturing, said in a statement.

“We’re looking forward to breaking ground on this exciting venture and we’ll continue to work alongside local dairy farmers and associates as we move ahead," he said. "Their collaboration is critical to ensure we’re operating a facility that will process high-quality milk for our customers that we can offer at the everyday low prices they rely on.”

In a blog post, he and Tyler Lehr, Walmart's senior vice president, merchandising, chilled, adult beverage and convenience, wrote that the new plant "will bolster our capacity to meet the demand for high-quality milk, while making our supply chain more resilient, and building even more transparency around sourcing."

Walmart’s new facility will be located on Inner Perimeter Road and will produce fresh dairy products — including gallon, half gallon, whole, 2%, 1%, skim and 1% chocolate milk — for Walmart’s Great Value and Sam’s Club’s Member’s Mark brands. Walmart didn't respond to an email from CoStar News asking the exact address of the planned plant.

The company opened its first milk-processing facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2018.

“We're excited that Walmart will soon tap into Georgia’s No. 1 industry and open new opportunities for farmers in the Lowndes County area,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement.

The planned state-of-the-art facility "will not only bring jobs and opportunity to the Valdosta area, it will enable our dairy farmers to produce more goods from start to finish right here in Georgia — sending a larger share of the retail dollar back to the family farm and giving Georgia consumers access to the freshest dairy products possible,” according to state Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper.

Food and fiber production and related industries represented $73.2 billion in contributions to Georgia’s economy and more than 340,800 jobs in 2021, according to the University of Georgia Ag Snapshots 2023. Georgia ranked as the top milk-producing state in the Southeast in 2022, with the dairy industry contributing close to $2.5 billion to Georgia’s economy, according to Georgia Milk Producers.

Complementing the state’s agriculture and food processing industries, Georgia has 178 million cubic feet of cold storage space. Logistics and infrastructure stemming from Georgia’s already central location in the southeastern U.S. allow companies to quickly and efficiently move products in and out of the state, according to the governor's office.

Senior project manager Elizabeth McLean represented the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Global Commerce team on the project in partnership with the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority, the city of Valdosta, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Power and Georgia Quick Start.