22 August 2022
In what is reported to be a highly unusual move, 50-year-old Decatur Dairy at Brodhead, Wisconsin, are funding a $6m expansion and modernisation project in a joint venture with a local co-op. In return for 50% loan funding from the Decatur Swiss Cheese Co-op, which is owned by 70 local farmers, owner Steve Stettler has set up a joint venture company to operate the new plant with the co-op which in turn has been awarded a 20-year exclusive milk supply contract. Decatur currently produce about 11,500t of cheese a year. Stettler is a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker certified for six different cheese types.
