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DAIRY ST R
Volume 24, No. 6
Valley Queen Cheese Factory launches expansion
June 11, 2022
“All dairy, all the time”™
A change for the better Robots help Ruther run a one-man farm
South Dakota cheesemaker breaks ground on $195M project
By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
By Jerry Nelson
jerry.n@dairystar.com
MILBANK, S.D. – Valley Queen Cheese Factory held a groundbreaking ceremony May 19 to commemorate the start of its latest expansion project. The expansion will boost the factory’s processing capacity from its current 5 million pounds of milk per day to 8 million pounds of milk per day. Valley Queen Cheese Factory CEO Doug Wilke gave remarks during the ceremony. “Our customers have told us they want more cheese, and our dairy producers want to make more milk,” Wilke said. “This three-year, $195 million expansion is our answer to those calls. It means 30,000 more cows, 140 new career opportunities, more families in our communities, growing schools and a busier main street. We’re proud to be a part of this growth that will benet so many across South Dakota.” Valley Queen Cheese Factory currently has 250 employees. This latest expansion is the largest in the company’s history. The economic impact from the new addition is estimated to be as much as $1 billion annually within an 80-mile radius of Milbank. The expansion, which is scheduled to be complete by Jan. 1, 2025, will boost Valley Queen Cheese Factory’s yearly cheesemaking capacity by 125 million pounds. “Ninety-three years ago, two Swiss immigrants took a chance on a small town called Milbank, South Dakota,” Wilke said. “We take great pride in being stewards of their legacy as we begin our next phase of growth.” Valley Queen Cheese Factory was founded in 1929 by Alfred Nef and Alfred Gonzenbach. The two men had stopped in Milbank on their way to Montana where they had planned to establish a new cheese factory. Local dairy farmers and businessmen convinced Nef and Gonzenbach to stay in Milbank and start a cheesemaking business that would use the milk being produced by area dairy farmers. Starting with these humble roots, Valley Queen Cheese Factory has grown steadily over the ensuing deTurn to VALLEY QUEEN | Page 8
MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Aaron Ruther releases caƩle from headlocks following herd check June 1 at the dairy near Perham, Minnesota. Ruther’s 210-cow herd is housed in a newlybuilt 4-row, guided-ow freestall barn and milked with three robots.
PERHAM, Minn. – Aaron Ruther has had his eyes on robotic milking systems for quite some time. And now, with the investment a part of his farming operation, it is exactly what he needed to make the one-man dairy practical. “I was sold on robots a few years ago,” Ruther said. “Help is hard to nd here with the factories in town. With the robots, life has gotten a lot better.” Ruther milks 210 cows with three DeLaval VMS V300 robots in a 4-row, guided-ow freestall barn. The dairyman began using his new setup Sept. 28, 2021, at his dairy farm in Otter Tail County near Perham. “It’s still a lot of work though, but it’s more manageable,” Ruther said. Ruther is in the barn around 5 a.m. every day to monitor the herd and bring Turn to RUTHER | Page 6
Saving for college Donnays compost manure, sell fertilizer to support schooling By Maggie Molitor Staff Intern
KIMBALL, Minn. – Kidding season makes a busy spring for most dairy goat farmers, but for the Donnays, the beginning of gardening season adds to the springtime frenzy. Along with milking goats, the Donnays have a small enterprise of composting goat manure and selling it as garden fertilizer. The business is completely run by Brad and Leanne Donnay’s children, Michael, 21, Katheryn, 17, and Thomas, 8. “Our dad put the project into our hands,” Michael said. “It is ours. However far we take it, we can take it. But it is up to us, and that is what is cool about it.” The family milks 160 goats near Kimball. They operate an on-farm creamery where they process their milk into cheese and sell it to various restaurants and wholesalers near the Twin Cities. “We use everything our goats produce,” Michael said. “The milk gets made into cheese, and the manure we make MAGGIE MOLITOR/DAIRY STAR into compost.” The Donnay children – (from leŌ) Michael, Katheryn and In an effort to be more sustainable, Brad started the com- Thomas – hold a bag of their goat compost May 23 at their posting business eight years ago as a way to use his goat family’s farm near Kimball, Minnesota. The kids run their own business where they compost goat manure, package it and sell it as a ferƟlizer. Turn to DONNAYS | Page 9