New CEO takes helm at Bongards

CHANHASSEN, Minn. — Bongards has a new president and CEO, Dennis Thomas, who assumed the role Jan. 1. He succeeds retiring leader, Daryl Larson. Thomas works from the cooperative’s corporate office in Chanhassen.

Thomas previously served as chief operations officer, a position he had held since November 2019. With four decades of experience in dairy processing, the South Dakota farm native said his focus is guiding steady growth while keeping farmer-owners profitable.

“The dairy farmers are working hard,” Thomas said. “We have to make sure we are wise in how we keep growing and doing everything we can so they’re successful on their farms.”

Established in 1908, Bongards has a vertically integrated cheese manufacturing structure. The cooperative receives milk from member farms, produces cheddar cheese in blocks and barrels, and then further processes much of that cheese into value-added products.

Thomas said Bongards’ structure gives it a unique position in the marketplace.

“Our competitors are processed cheese makers, not block makers,” Thomas said. “Vertical integration means we own the cheddar cheese barrel until it becomes a value-added process product. Other co-ops may sell their barrels or blocks to competitors. Their end game is selling to them — ours is not.”

That integrated model spans multiple facilities. Milk is received and converted into cheddar at the cooperative’s Perham plant, while processed cheese products are manufactured in Norwood Young America and Humboldt, Tennessee. Bongards processes about 1.8 million pounds of milk into cheese each year.

The cooperative has experienced strong growth in recent years and intends to build on that momentum with care, Thomas said.

“We are in a good spot,” he said. “We want to continue our momentum and do good things for our member-owners. But we want to be disciplined. We don’t want to chase fool’s gold or be reckless. We want to make sure we are doing due diligence.”

Unlike retail-focused brands, Bongards sells primarily into wholesale channels, with direct-to-consumer retail sales representing only a small portion of its business. Some of the channels Bongards sells into include business-to-business sliced products, the school lunch program and food service.

“We have good relationships with a lot of companies that are growing too,” Thomas said. “We want to grow with partners who are good partners. We want to be the first call they make when they have a new opportunity — whether it’s a formulation, a size, an application, or another need — for processed cheese.”

Thomas earned a degree in dairy science manufacturing from South Dakota State University and later completed a master of business administration from Eastern Illinois University.

His career includes roles at Gold Bond Ice Cream, Kraft, Land O’Lakes Inc., Foremost Farms USA and Dairy Farmers of America’s DairiConcepts subsidiary. His experience spans ice cream, cheese drying and powder, macaroni and cheese dinners, and natural cheese cut-and-wrap operations.

What he values the most about the dairy industry, Thomas said, is the people.

“Their work ethic is incredible,” he said. “They are tenacious and innovative in solving problems on their farms. In a way, that’s what we do in factories too — figuring out problems and solving them in the most economical way.”

Thomas grew up on a grain and livestock farm in southeastern South Dakota. He found his way into dairy thanks to a determined professor, Shirley W. Seas, the kind of mentor Thomas said inspires him to help dairy producers today.

A freshman general ag major, he took Seas’ dairy science elective because it fit around football practices and games. When Thomas’ father passed away and he missed two weeks of class, Seas called him into his office.

“He grilled me: ‘What are your plans? Are you dropping out? Are you going back to the farm?’” Thomas said. “This was the 1980s, a really challenging time for farmers. It wasn’t a good time to try to take on the farm by myself.”

Thomas told his mentor he planned to graduate but had no solid plan. Seas persisted with the same questions each year, with a growing sense of urgency. By his junior year, he called Thomas in again and laid out the sequence of courses needed to become a dairy manufacturing major, explaining he could still finish in four years — but only if he started right away.

That summer, Thomas called Seas back and agreed to do it.

That early encouragement, Thomas said, shaped how he motivates and supports dairy producers today. Despite his corporate role, he said he values time spent on farms.

“There is something about dirt under your fingernails and manure on your boots,” he said. “I was on a farm yesterday morning for a couple of hours. I enjoy wearing a pair of jeans, getting mud on my boots, and coming back to the office smelling like silage.”

During his tenure with Bongards, Thomas said he is most proud of the cooperative’s growth and the team behind it.

“We’ve lowered injuries, lowered costs and increased production,” Thomas said. “That boosts profitability and strengthens the patronage dividend we pay back to farmers. It provides a living for a lot of people, both on the farms and in the factories.”