Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration says attracting a processing plant to southwest Kansas is one of its top priorities.

The goal is to attract a plant that would be useful to dairy farmers, who milk more than 70,000 cows a day.

Brownback spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag says something like a cheese plant would be a powerful tool for the long-term economy of rural Kansas.

The Hutchinson News reports that some progress is being made. Grant County Economic Development Director Leslie Mangels said a foreign investor visited Ulysses two weeks ago to discuss building a dry milk-processing plant. Ulysses is competing with Michigan and South Dakota for the plant.

However, some industry leaders say dairy farmers in the region need more cows to attract a large processing plant.