Wisconsin Ag Connection - Grassland Dairy Expansion Could Double Butter Production

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Grassland Dairy Expansion Could Double Butter Production
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 06/22/2012

The Greenwood-based Grassland Dairy Products, Inc., which is the largest family owned butter creamery in the world, announced that it's recent expansion project will allow them to double its milk capacity and overall production output.

The company currently produces over 280,000 pounds of butter each day and supplies about one third of the world's butter. With added capacity, the plant is now poised to run eight million pounds of milk through the plant using three ultra-modern continuous churning equipment--each producing 50,000 pounds of butter per hour.

"We have a 12-bay intake and can unload 12 trucks of milk at one time and each truck contains about 50,000 pounds of milk," said Grassland Vice President Trevor Wuethrich. "Before unloading, all milk undergoes rigorous quality tests to ensure meets and exceeds standards. That milk is then stored in 50,000 gallon silos and kept at 44 degrees Fahrenheit until it's used. Once that milk is churned into butter and placed in its proper packaging, it is stored in our 60,000 square foot cold warehouse and ready for semi-trucks to take it all over the country."

Among the companies most recognized butter brands consumers will find in the dairy aisle bearing the creamery’s name is Grassland, along with other marketed brands, including Fall Creek, Golden Goodness and Country Cream.

"Grassland packages 100 different butter brands," says Wuethrich. "About 90 of those brands being retail brands, and you'll see all throughout the United States different brands of butter, and likely most of them come from our butter plant."

In addition, Grassland also recently installed two state-of-the-art milk driers allowing the plant to dry 28,000 pounds of powder per hour or 4.7 million pounds weekly. The milk driers allow Grassland to get the most value from patron milk by drying down the milk into a powder used as a food and beverage ingredient.

Meanwhile, plans are also being thought out to install a lactose dryer to make a high quality edible powder for the food industry. The new lactose dryer would create 25 new jobs in the area.

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