ELLSWORTH – In celebration of Earth Day, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery is reaffirming its commitment to environmental stewardship and its patron farmers who support that important work. As an agri-business and farmer-owned co-op, stewardship and care for the environment have always been a top priority for Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery.

“The dairy industry depends on a healthy environment, and Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery is proud to process our farmer’s milk into delicious cheese products in a sustainable way,” said Paul Bauer, CEO and general manager of Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery. “Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery will always look to improve processes to support an environment where our patron dairy farms and customers can thrive.”

Producing dairy products depends on an environment where our patron dairy farms can thrive. Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery is proud to have demonstrated its commitment to environmental stewardship in several ways:

• Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery repurposes high energy waste by sending it to a digester where it is turned into usable energy. In 2022, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery’s waste-to-energy initiative resulted in the generation of nearly 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity, reducing the amount of CO₂ emission by 2.6 tons. That’s the amount of energy equivalent to 295,822 gallons of gasoline.
• By reducing packaging material waste, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery’s efforts saved 464 acres of forest land—resulting in an estimated savings of 8 million pounds of greenhouse gases not emitted, over 3 million gallons of water not consumed, and 27,000 pounds in solid waste not generated.
• Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery has invested in emission reducing technology to reduce emissions at the new Menomonie production facility.
• Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery re-uses water in the cheesemaking process to save 180,000 gallons of water usage per day.
• Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery has partnered with other cooperatives and planned efficient milk routes to reduce fuel consumption.

Learn more about Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery at Ellsworthcheese.com.

Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery is a farmer-owned co-op based in the Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin, Ellsworth. For 112 years, their 250 patron family dairy farms and dedicated employees have been proudly producing award-winning cheese curds and artisan cheeses.