Three hundred miles north of Madison in a small town called Grantsburg near the Minnesota border, the Burnett Dairy Co-op has been supporting farmers for over forty years. Dairy farming is notoriously difficult in this area, yet the co-op buys milk from 240 milk patrons, area farmers who truck their milk to the dairy from up to seventy-five miles away. It’s a support system that’s vital for the area.
Farmers in the northwest part of Wisconsin face greater challenges than those in the southern third of the state. “We’re far enough north that getting a good crop every year is a challenge, and the cost of getting that crop is higher per acre or bushel compared to [farms] in the Corn Belt or Grain Belt,” says Earl Wilson, manager of the co-op’s cheese division and retail store.
Burnett Dairy Co-op, one of the northernmost dairy plants in Wisconsin, is able to pay farmers a fair price by cutting out the “middlemen” that large corporate dairies often include. They buy and process milk right at their plant, sell cheese from an attached retail store, and provide member farmers with important services like milk quality testing and animal care. In addition to the cheese side of the co-op, Burnett Dairy also runs an agronomy division with a full-service feed, seed, fertilizer and fuel store.
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