Better with cheddar

RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin–River Falls recommitted itself to dairy food production education with the addition of the Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence. A project 11 years in the making, the dairy pilot plant opened its doors in October 2023, revitalizing the efforts of UWRF to be a leader in the food science world.

Rueben Nilsson, the dairy pilot plant manager, and Mike Orth, the dean of the College of Agriculture, recognize how special it is to have this type of plant available for students interested in food science.

“It’s critical to have this on campus,” Orth said. “I think a differentiator between us and other schools is that we’re really student driven. The faculty do a lot of the teaching, and we want the students to get in there and get their hands dirty.”

With over 90% of the state’s milk going towards cheese production, the University saw the need to train students with hands-on experience to better prepare them for the workforce.

Nilsson works with UWRF faculty and others in the dairy industry to help train the workforce on the school’s new equipment.

“There’s only UW-Madison and us who can provide this kind of learning experience,” Nilsson said. “I get to work with some of our professors and help them craft what they want to do in the pilot plant.”

The plant helps provide a hands-on learning experience partnered with traditional classroom education. The experience that is offered students of working directly with food production can help illuminate career opportunities that were previously unknown.

“The plant helps provide more awareness of our food science degree,” Orth said. “Very few students come in interested in these areas until they learn about it here. With a food science degree, and the work experience we can offer, there are plenty of job opportunities after graduation.”

UWRF had a dairy plant on campus starting in the 1980s, but with outdated equipment, the plant shut its doors in 2018. Former director of dairy production, Michelle Farner, led the charge for funding the new facility.

What started as a small-scale project gained traction from businesses within the dairy industry and led to a 6,000-square-foot, $9 million facility. Donations included over $5 million from businesses, $1 million from the Wuethrich family and the state funding the balance.

The plant works in conjunction with Mann Valley Farm to bring in milk for use at the dairy plant. Along with the campus farm, the plant provides opportunities for departments across campus to learn in a real-world scenario.

“There’s the marketing side of it,” Orth said. “We could go to computer science and use some traceability software and reporting. There could be a student project that could use some of that data; the art department could create artwork for labels. It’s a really strong opportunity to work with other departments on campus.”

Orth said that kind of synergy is something UWRF can benefit from.

“It’s critical that we work with other departments within our university,” Orth said. “The better you can integrate students and faculty from other colleges, the more benefits you can see.”

The on-campus dairy plant provides Nilsson and his staff with a chance to learn new techniques and take chances to create something new. They can also partner with other departments on campus to potentially fill a need.

“We’ve talked with the athletic department about what kind of product we could produce that they find beneficial,” Nilsson said. “Could we produce something high in protein for a post-workout beverage or product? We’re continuing to find these opportunities as we go and expanding what we can create.”

Most recently, Nilsson began developing a nacho cheese to use on campus in concession stands during events.

The dairy plant’s nacho cheese was projected to be unveiled at the UWRF Science Olympiad Border Battle Jan. 25. Other products Nilsson cooked up include a variety of flavored cheese curds, including chipotle, gochujang and chili lime. The opportunity to create new products and be creative is what intrigued Nilsson.

“That was one of the big attractions to the job, the freedom to play with whatever I wanted to try making and providing experiential learning for our students,” Nilsson said.

Being a newer plant, not all cheese types have yet to be duplicated. A challenge the plant faces is storage space to provide more opportunities to expand its line of products.

“We’re limited on space as far as aged cheese,” Nilsson said. “But the flavored younger cheeses are where we can really start to work.”

Nilsson’s background in cheese production helped the plant start production as soon as possible with the first batch of cheddar produced in March 2024. Nilsson and his team will focus on ice cream production soon.

“I’m excited to start working with the ice creams,” Nilsson said. “We need to nail down our base first, get that vanilla right, and then we can continue to add in more toppings.”