There are many ways to enjoy Butterkase cheese from Decatur Dairy. One option is in a grilled cheese sandwich.
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Saputo is closing its Belmont facility and moving its growing goat cheese production to Reedsburg. The move will eliminate more than 200 jobs, but village officials are hopeful another producer can be found for the building that has been a cheese plant for decades.
A worker takes a break at the Saputo cheese plant in Belmont, one of the largest goat cheese facilities in the state.
A mural of Wisconsin-born musician Les Paul was recently painted in Belmont's downtown by artist Erik T. Burke.
Melissa Carroll, a bartender at McCarville’s My Turn Pub in Belmont, shows off the cheese case at the end of the bar filled with locally made cheese.
A crane rises from the rural landscape along with silos at Decatur Dairy west of Brodhead. The cheese plant is undergoing a $6 million expansion that will help the company grow its specialty cheese business.
Jennifer Bear, who works in the cheese shop at Decatur Dairy near Brodhead, cuts through a block of Butterkase, a semi-soft cow's milk cheese. The cheese company makes up to 70,000 pounds of cheese a day.
Steve Stettler, owner of Decatur Dairy near Brodhead, is a certified master cheesemaker whose family has been in the industry for decades.
Steve Stettler, owner of Decatur Dairy, announced last week that his company and the farmers of the Decatur Swiss Cheese Co-op that provide milk to the plant, have formed Decatur Cheese Plant, a company that will share in the costs of a $6 million addition to the cheese plant. Under the agreement, the farmers will have a guaranteed market for their milk for the next 20 years.
Photos: Belmont, Saputo and Decatur Dairy near Brodhead
Belmont to lose Saputo cheese plant
A worker takes a break at the Saputo cheese plant in Belmont, one of the largest goat cheese facilities in the state.
Belmont to lose Saputo cheese plant
A mural of Wisconsin-born musician Les Paul was recently painted in Belmont's downtown by artist Erik T. Burke.
Belmont to lose Saputo cheese plant
Grant Kunkel, manager of the waste water treatment facility at Saputo in Belmont.
Belmont to lose Saputo cheese plant
Saputo in Belmont is one of the largest goat cheese plants in Wisconsin but its production will be moved by 2024 to a plant in Reedsburg.
Belmont to lose Saputo cheese plant
Saputo is closing its Belmont facility and moving its growing goat cheese production to Reedsburg. The move will eliminate more than 200 jobs, but village officials are hopeful another producer can be found for the building that has been a cheese plant for decades.
Belmont to lose Saputo cheese plant
Melissa Carroll, a bartender at McCarville’s My Turn Pub in Belmont, shows off the cheese case at the end of the bar filled with locally made cheese.
Belmont to lose Saputo cheese plant
A mural in downtown Belmont speaks to the rural character of the Lafayette County village.
Belmont to lose Saputo cheese plant
Belmont is one of the state's most historic points. Just north of what is now the village is where he first legislature of the Wisconsin Territory met in 1836.
Decatur Dairy expansion
A crane rises from the rural landscape along with silos at Decatur Dairy west of Brodhead. The cheese plant is undergoing a $6 million expansion that will help the company grow its specialty cheese business.
Decatur Dairy expansion
Decatur Dairy expansion
Steve Stettler, owner of Decatur Dairy, announced last week that his company and the farmers of the Decatur Swiss Cheese Co-op that provide milk to the plant, have formed Decatur Cheese Plant, a company that will share in the costs of a $6 million addition to the cheese plant. Under the agreement, the farmers will have a guaranteed market for their milk for the next 20 years.
Decatur Dairy expansion
Jennifer Bear, who works in the cheese shop at Decatur Dairy near Brodhead, cuts through a block of Butterkase, a semi-soft cow's milk cheese. The cheese company makes up to 70,000 pounds of cheese a day.
Decatur Dairy expansion
There are many ways to enjoy Butterkase cheese from Decatur Dairy. One option is in a grilled cheese sandwich.
Steve Stettler making cheese
Steve Stettler of Decatur Dairy in Brodhead is a Wisconsin Certified Master Cheesemaker whose family has been in the industry for three generations.
World Championship Cheese Contest
Steve Stettler, left, of Decatur Dairy in Brodhead, and Bruce Workman, of Edelweiss Creamery in Monticello, wrap up a wheel of Swiss during the World Championship Cheese Contest at Monona Terrace. Tuesday was the opening day of judging with more scheduled for Wednesday. The top cheese among the record 3,667 entries will be announced Thursday night at a sold-out gala.
Decatur Dairy
Rick Johnson, left, and other workers at Decatur Dairy near Brodhead clean a drain table with a chemical solution. Most cheesemakers take steps to ensure food safety above and beyond what's required by state and federal regulators, Decatur owner Steve Stettler said.
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
