It’s a holiday made just for us, National Cheese Curd Day is coming up on Saturday, October 15. As the Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin, this is one holiday we like to celebrate big and we invite you to join in! We’re celebrating at our own retail locations and are also participating in events across Wisconsin. Here’s where you can find us…
Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery Retail Stores in Ellsworth and Menomonie
Our team is looking forward to celebrating National Cheese Curd Day with you. In honor of the day, we’ll have sampling and live music along with special discounts on… you guessed it…CHEESE CURDS! Purchase 1-pound bags of our fresh natural and seasoned curd flavors Buy 1 and Get 1 Free. Plus, 50% off on deep-fried cheese curds at both locations. In Ellsworth, this will be the last weekend our Curd Wagon will be frying curds until next spring—it’s time to pack up the wagon for the winter. Come by for one last boat. Need directions? You’ll find our locations here.
Drink Wisconsibly Pub’s Curd Fest in Milwaukee
Curd Fest is back! After two years of no event (you know why), the Drink Wisconsibly Pub is hosting squeaky cheese fans for Curd Fest once again! Curd Fest in Milwaukee is the next best thing to the Ellsworth Cheese Curd Festival if you’re looking to get your curds on.
Of course, the event wouldn’t be complete without curds from the state’s Cheese Curd Capital–The Drink Wisconsibly Pub will be dishing out Ellsworth Cheese Curds with other Wisconsin curds also being sampled during the event. In true Milwaukee style, there will also be polka music, chedd-art, and more! OnMilwaukee spotlights the best of this fest here. Get more event details and ticket information via their Facebook Event here.
Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center
We’re teaming up with the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center to celebrate the day with blind cheese curd taste testing, deep-fried cheese curds, free cheese curds, and more! You’ll taste test six different Ellsworth cheese curds flavors, with a chance to win prizes for guessing each flavor correctly! You’ll also learn our cheese curds are made and enjoy deep-fried Ellsworth cheese curds at the Wisconsin Café. Plus, the first 150 people to visit on this day will receive a free 2 oz. snack pack of our cheese curds! The event will be held from 9am-1pm.
The Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center is a state-of-the-art, interactive agricultural education center located in Manitowoc County. It’s an awesome destination and a great place to dive into the wonders of agriculture. Named among Time for Kids’ 50 Coolest Places of 2019 and a Trip Advisor Top Choice, you can spend a day as a family exploring interactive exhibits and learning about the farm. Get all the details on their website here.
No matter where you’re from, we hope you’re able to take in a National Cheese Curd Day event with us this year. If you don’t celebrate this holiday where you’re from, or your schedule doesn’t permit, watch our Facebook page for something special our team is putting together to commemorate the day!
We were honored to be named one of three finalists at the Wisconsin Economic Development Association’s (WEDA) Community and Economic Development Awards (CEDA) event last month! The Business Retention & Expansion Award recognizes economic development projects in which a community successfully mobilizes to retain and/or expand an existing business of great importance to the community. The Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery’s new Menomonie plant represents an investment of over $30 million, a collaboration with the City of Menomonie, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, along with the creation of 78 jobs, many of which were retained from our former location.
Ray French, WEDC Regional Economic Director, visiting our Ellsworth headquarters to present Paul Bauer, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery CEO/General Manager, with this commemorative plaque.
WEDA’s Community and Economic Development Awards (CEDA) is Wisconsin’s premier awards program for the economic development community. The Menomonie project was not an easy one, which makes this acknowledgment that much more meaningful to our organization! Keeping our existing location in operation while building the plant in Menomonie was a challenge. In addition, the ongoing effects of the pandemic, including supply chain issues and interrupted construction timelines, added uncertainty during the project and transition.
However, we put that all behind us when we accepted our first load of milk into the plant earlier this year. And with the opening of the adjoining retail store, our vision became reality! We couldn’t have done it without our great staff and many community and project partners. Thanks to this team effort, we look forward to many years of crafting quality cheese at this new facility.
When it comes to making a quality product, the importance of a skilled workforce can’t be overstated. That’s one reason the relationships we’ve fostered with our regional education partners are so important to our organization.
The University of Wisconsin-River Falls is one of those valued partners. Many UW-RF graduates fill critical and valued roles within our organization. One UW-RF project that is particularly important to us as a producer of dairy products is their Dairy Pilot Plant, which is currently undergoing a major renovation and set to reopen next spring.
We value our great working relationship with UW-River Falls, and their commitment to careers in agriculture. Pictured here (from left to right), Maria Gallo, Chancellor, UW-River Falls; Paul Bauer, General Manager, Ellsworth Creamery; John Freyholtz, Director of Operations, Ellsworth Creamery; Michelle Farner, UW-River Falls Dairy Pilot Plant Manager.
Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery has been a big supporter of the project. In total, our board of directors has committed $150,000 to the renovation. The Dairy Pilot Plant offers students the opportunity for hands-on learning using state-of-the-art technology and processes for unmatched teaching, learning, and research opportunities–all extremely important in an evolving industry such as ours.
Continued growth and success of our cooperative rely on a passionate and skilled workforce. We’re confident our investment into this project will pay dividends as we look ahead to our future workforce needs.
WisBusiness spoke with Michell Farner, manager of the Dairy Pilot Plant, to learn more about the project. You can find the article here.
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