Title: Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative Records
Inclusive Dates: 1903-1967

Creator:

• Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative

Call Number: Mss 473

Quantity: 5.4 c.f. (14 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records of a Wisconsin dairy cooperative formed in 1963 from the merger of the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association of Union Center (originally the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Federation, formed in 1922) and the Wisconsin Creamery Company Cooperative of Sauk City (originally the Wisconsin Creamery Company, established in 1890). Materials date mostly from the 1940s through the 1960s and document the Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative, its predecessor organizations, and organizations which were absorbed or merged with it. Included are minutes of meetings, articles of incorporation, bylaws, financial statements, agreements, deeds, mortgages, newsletters, and lists of stock holders. About half the collection consists of audit reports detailing the organizations' assets and liabilities, prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture for the cooperative and its members. Also included in the collection are materials documenting the lend-lease agreement for dry milk production between the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association and the Federal Government during World War II.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00473

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The Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative is the largest dairy cooperative in the Midwest. The organization includes over six thousand milk producers in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois, eleven manufacturing plants, and seven transfer stations. Besides processing milk the Cooperative manufactures butter, cheese, powdered milk and evaporated milk. Member owned and controlled, it keeps its constituents informed of the dairy products market and represents them in dairy marketing and legislative matters. Established in March of 1963, the Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative represents a consolidation of two organizations: the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association of Union Center and the Wisconsin Creamery Company Cooperative of Sauk City.

The Wisconsin Creamery Company Cooperative of Sauk City began as the Wisconsin Creamery Company. The original articles of incorporation were adopted by a group of local area farmers on January 18, 1890. The company purchased land for a plant along the Wisconsin River and sold stock for a cooperative. In 1938 the company appended the word “Cooperative” to its name and revised its articles of incorporation. In 1945 it purchased the Black Earth Dairy Cooperative and merged with the Sumpter Cooperative Creamery and the Springfield Creamery. Also in that year the Cooperative began to serve the patrons of the Cassel Cheese Factory after the factory closed in November. In 1948 the Cooperative built a new plant across the street from its old one, and over the next two years the organization began the manufacture of nonfat dry milk solids and cottage cheese. Four hundred and fifteen area farmers were members of the cooperative by 1950.

The Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association had its beginnings in 1922. In that year fourteen creameries in the Baraboo Valley formed the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Federation in an effort to solve mutual problems in quality control. Three other creameries joined, and in 1924 the Federation leased the Union Center Creamery building. The organization adopted articles of incorporation on April 27, 1932, and was re-incorporated on March 4, 1936 as the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association. In the late 1930s and 1940s the Association's business grew and its activities diversified. It built an ice cream mix and butter printing plant in 1940. When the demand for nonfat dry milk solids grew at the beginning of World War II, the Association began to manufacture this product and, in 1944, the organization reached an agreement with the Federal Government on a Lend-Lease project for building a milk drying plant. This agreement provided a ten-year amortization plan which enabled the Association to eventually become the sole owner of the plant. Between 1960 and 1962 many plants merged with the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association. These plants included the Hillsboro Cooperative Creamery Association (1960); La Valle Cooperative Creamery, Wonewoc Cooperative Dairy, and Mount Tabor Cooperative Creamery (1960); New Lisbon Cooperative Creamery (1960); Ontario Cooperative Creamery (1960); Troy and Honey Creek Cooperative Creamery (1960); Oakdale Cooperative Butter Association (1961); Wilton Cooperative Creamery (1961); and Cazenovia Farmers Cooperative Creamery (1962).

In March of 1963 the membership of both the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association and the Wisconsin Creamery Company Cooperative voted overwhelmingly to dissolve the two separate organizations and to consolidate into the Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative. Since then the new Cooperative has expanded through eleven mergers or acquisitions. Organizations that have joined the Cooperative since 1963 include the Richland Cooperative Creamery Company and the Excelsior Cooperative Creamery Company (both in 1964); Kilbourn Cooperative Creamery Company (1965); Hillpoint Cooperative Dairies (1967); Garden Valley Cooperative Creamery (1974); Farmers Cooperative Creamery Company (1975); Schurman Brothers Butter and Cheese (1977); Bletsoe Dairy, Farmers Cooperative Creamery Association, and Meadow Land Dairy Association (all in 1979); and Universal Foods Cheese Plant (1981).

Although some of the records date from as early as 1903, the bulk of the materials are from the 1940s through the early 1960s. The collection is organized into two series: OFFICIAL, LEGAL, AND MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS; and AUDIT REPORTS, which comprise about one-half of the materials.

The OFFICIAL, LEGAL, AND MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS contain proceedings and minutes of special, annual, monthly, bimonthly, and weekly meetings. Also included are articles of incorporation, by-laws, financial statements, agreements, leases, deeds, and mortgages. Miscellaneous materials include newsletters, correspondence, lists of stockholders, and bank notes. The series is divided into three subseries: Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative, the Wisconsin Creamery Company Cooperative, and the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association. Along with the records of the Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative are materials from six creameries that merged with the Cooperative since 1963. With the records of the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association are those of eight creameries that joined the Association in 1960 and 1961. Also included in the Association's records are materials relating to their dry milk production and their 1944 Lend-Lease agreement with the Federal Government.

The series AUDIT REPORTS includes the annual audits prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture for the Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative, the Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association, the Wisconsin Creamery Company Cooperative, twelve creameries that merged with the Creamery Association and one that merged with Dairies Cooperative. The reports, arranged alphabetically by company name, provide detailed information on the organizations' assets and liabilities.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative, Baraboo, Wisconsin, via William Peirnot, May 1975 and May 1976. Accession Number: M75-216, M76-195

Processing Information

Processed by Gayle Martinson (FGH intern), July 1979; Ellen Chin and Joanne Hohler, August 1983; and Geoffrey Wexler, February 1986.

	Series: Official, Legal, and Miscellaneous Records
	Subseries: Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative
	General
Box   1 Folder   1	Historical Papers, 1944-1946
Box   1 Folder   2-6	Proceedings of Annual District Meetings, 1964-1967
Box   1 Folder   7	Miscellaneous Papers
	Genoa City Cooperative Milk Association
Box   1 Folder   8	Articles and Bylaws, 1935-1969
Box   1 Folder   9-10	Financial and Legal Papers, 1936-1968
	Hillpoint Cooperative Dairies
Box   2 Folder   1	Proceedings, 1903-1906
Box   2 Folder   2	Minutes of Annual Meetings, 1910-1927
	Minutes of Bimonthly Meetings
Box   2 Folder   3-8	1930-1960
Box   3 Folder   1	1960-1967
Box   3 Folder   2	Application to War Production Board for Facilities Expansion, November 1943
Box   3 Folder   3	Operating and Financial Statements, 1947, 1956-1966
Box   3 Folder   4-5	Miscellaneous Papers, 1904-1967
	Kilbourn Cooperative Creamery
Box   3 Folder   6	Corporation Records, 1921-1957
Box   4 Folder   1	Minutes, 1957-1965
Box   4 Folder   2	Miscellaneous, 1957-1965
Box   4 Folder   3	Richland Cooperative Creamery Company -- Annual Report, 1959
	Subseries: Wisconsin Creamery Company Cooperative	⇧
Box   4 Folder   4-5	Minutes of Monthly Meetings, 1949-1963
Box   4 Folder   6	Miscellany, 1945, 1951
	Subseries: Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association	⇧
	General
Box   4 Folder   7	Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, 1932, 1942
	Minutes
	Monthly Meetings
Box   4 Folder   8-13	1930-1954
Box   5 Folder   1	1954-1955
Box   5 Folder   2-3	Annual Meetings, 1955-1963
Box   5 Folder   4	District Meetings, 1961-1962
	Dried Milk Production
Box   5 Folder   5-7	Lend-Lease Facilities, 1938-1944
Box   5 Folder   8	Plant Layout and Equipment, 1944-1945
Box   5 Folder   9	Dried Milk Products Cooperative, Eau Claire, 1945
Box   5 Folder   10	Miscellany, 1936-1962
Box   6 Folder   1	Baraboo Valley Cooperative Dairy -- Proceedings, 1958-1961
	Excelsior Cooperative Creamery
Box   6 Folder   2	Articles of Incorporation, 1943
Box   6 Folder   3	Miscellaneous, 1942, 1950, 1964
Box   6 Folder   4	La Valle Cooperative Creamery Company -- Miscellany, 1942, 1956
	Mount Tabor Cooperative Creamery Company
Box   6 Folder   5	Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, 1941, 1950
Box   6 Folder   6	Minutes of Monthly, Annual, and Special Meetings, 1911-1960
Box   6 Folder   7	Miscellany, 1940, 1955, 1960
Box   6 Folder   8	New Lisbon Cooperative Creamery Association -- Miscellany, 1943-1960
	Oakdale Cooperative Butter Association
Box   6 Folder   9	Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, 1945-1955
Box   6 Folder   10-11	Minutes of Monthly and Annual Meetings, 1907-1955
Box   6 Folder   12	Membership-Shareholder List, 1907
Box   6 Folder   13	Miscellany, 1944-1955
	Wilton Mutual Cooperative Creamery Association
Box   6 Folder   14-15	Minutes of Monthly and Annual Meetings, 1948-1961
Box   6 Folder   16	Miscellany, 1956, 1961
Box   6 Folder   17	Wonewoc Cooperative Dairy -- Financial Statement, 1955
	Series: Audit Reports	⇧
Box   6 Folder   18	Cazenovia Farmers Cooperative Creamery Association, 1960-1961
	Excelsior Cooperative Creamery
Box   7 Folder   1-6	1934-1959
Box   8 Folder   1-2	1960-1963
	Hillpoint Cooperative Dairies
Box   8 Folder   3-7	1932-1957
Box   9 Folder   1	1960-1962
	Kilbourn Cooperative Creamery Company
Box   9 Folder   2-6	1925-1954
Box   10 Folder   1-3	1955-1964
	La Valle Cooperative Creamery Company
Box   10 Folder   4-7	1927-1953
Box   11 Folder   1	1954-1959
Box   11 Folder   2	Mount Tabor Cooperative Creamery Company, 1950-1958
Box   11 Folder   3	New Lisbon Cooperative Creamery Association, 1960
Box   11 Folder   4	Oakdale Cooperative Butter Association, 1960
Box   11 Folder   5	Ontario Farmers Mutual Cooperative Creamery Association, 1961
Box   11 Folder   6	Richland Cooperative Creamery Company, 1961, 1964
Box   11 Folder   7-8	Wilton Mutual Cooperative Creamery Association, 1955-1961
	Wisconsin Cooperative Creamery Association
	General
Box   12 Folder   1-7	1947-1961
Box   13 Folder   1	1962-1963
Box   13 Folder   2-3	Central Plant, 1942-1945
Box   13 Folder   4	Milk Processing Plant, 1945-1947
Box   13 Folder   5-7	Wisconsin Creamery Company Cooperative, 1946-1963
	Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative
Box   13 Folder   8	1963
Box   14 Folder   1	1964-1965
Box   14 Folder   2-3	Wonewoc Cooperative Dairy, 1939-1958