Burnett Dairy Cooperative

Burnett Dairy Cooperative is a farmer-owned dairy and agricultural cooperative headquartered near Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Established in 1896, it stands as one of the few remaining full-service cooperatives actively producing cheese in the United States. The cooperative operates under the guidance of a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker®, a prestigious designation that underscores its commitment to craft and quality. Its award-winning cheese lineup is marketed under the Masterfully Made™ brand promise, emphasizing inventive flavors and inspired quality across a broad range of product formats.

The cooperative's cheese products serve retail, deli, foodservice, and private-label customers, with distribution extending throughout the United States. Retail consumers can access products through grocery stores nationwide, via the cooperative's direct-to-consumer online shop, and at two physical retail locations: the Cheese Store & Bistro in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, and Cady Cheese in Wilson, Wisconsin. This multi-channel distribution model reflects the cooperative's reach across both wholesale and direct retail segments.

Beyond cheese manufacturing, Burnett Dairy Cooperative functions as a comprehensive agricultural services provider for its farmer-members. The cooperative offers a wide spectrum of farm management support services, including agronomy, grain handling and marketing, energy supply, and animal health and nutrition services, as well as a General Store stocked with farm supplies. This vertically integrated approach allows the cooperative to influence and improve the quality of milk at the farm level, which in turn directly benefits the quality of the cheese it produces.

The cooperative's agronomy division provides farmers with soil and crop nutrition solutions, including liquid and granulated fertilizers and bulk prescription blends mixed using a state-of-the-art HIM Tower Blending System, which is part of a proprietary Precision Fertilizer Blending System. Crop protection offerings span herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and inoculants. The seed solutions portfolio includes High Digestible Fiber silage corn, Corteva Agriscience BMR corn genetics, HybriForce Hybrid Alfalfa, and custom soybean seed treatments, sourced through partnerships with Dairyland Seed and Mustang Seeds. Custom field application services are also available using modern equipment capable of both dry and liquid applications with precise recordkeeping technology.

The animal nutrition division supports dairy herd health and profitability through dedicated nutritionists, while a large animal veterinarian and agronomists on staff further distinguish the cooperative's service depth. The energy division supplies propane, gasoline, on-road and off-road diesel, home heating oil, and ethanol blends on a year-round basis.

This integrated model — from soil and seed through to milk production and cheese manufacturing — positions Burnett Dairy Cooperative as a uniquely self-sustaining enterprise in the CPG dairy space, with deep roots in its farming community and a strong track record of delivering premium dairy products to retail and foodservice markets.