The A-G Cooperative Creamery is one of the most successful and highly integrated farmer cooperatives in Wisconsin. It was formed in February 1924 by a merger of the Arcadia Farmers' Cooperative Creamery Company and the Glencoe Cooperative Creamery. Its headquarters are in the Town of Arcadia, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin. Before 1944 it was known as the A-G Creamery Company.
Much of the success of the A-G Cooperative Creamery can be attributed to Arthur C. Schultz who has been general manager since it was organized in 1924. Throughout its history the cooperative has been constantly growing and expanding its services. In 1925 it started a chick hatchery, and in 1927 purchased a grain elevator and went into the feed business. It expanded the poultry operation after 1950 by adding a broiler chicken processing plant. In addition to these services, the Cooperative now operates a fertilizer blending plant, a welding and steel fabricating shop, a truck service garage, a cheese plant, and a wood shaving plant to supply the litter needed by its broiler growers.
This expansion is reflected in the number of persons employed by the Cooperative and its annual income. Since 1924 the number of employees has grown from three to two hundred fifteen, and the annual payroll from $7000 to $1,500,000. The total receipts have risen from $340,000 to $34,700,000.
For further information see the historical sketch in the 1973 annual report of the Cooperative and a published history of the A-G Cooperative Creamery, Integration at the Grass Roots by Henry H. Bakken and Louis A. Mejia. For a description of the broiler chicken operation see the Milwaukee Journal's Sunday March 2, 1975 magazine section.
