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For many years, small organic cheesemaking operations have had a problem with whey.
In the last 20 years, the value of whey -- a byproduct of cheesemaking -- has increased dramatically as food and health-products producers recognized its potential for human consumption as a source of protein and calcium.
But small organic producers haven't yet been able to see the full potential of this new market.
With organic dairy products fetching between 50 and 150 percent higher commodity prices than non-organic, Tera Johnson, chief executive of Wisconsin Specialty Protein, saw an entrepreneurial opportunity. And now, her company is building a $14 million, 21,000-square-foot whey processing facility at 522 Greenway Court in the Reedsburg Industrial Park.
A ground-breaking ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The company plans to target organic artisan cheesemakers in southern Wisconsin as a source of whey.
"The smaller plants can't afford to do it on their own," said Johnson. The only option for many organic cheesemakers has been to sell their whey at a lower price to be mixed with non-organic whey.
The new facility will be the first whey processor in the U.S. to create nutritional supplement-grade whey products sourced from organic whey. It will also be the first to process organic goat and sheep whey, though most of the inputs will be cow milk whey.
A state report said exports of Wisconsin whey rose 160 percent in 2007 to a record 99.5 million pounds, valued at $79.8 million, due to demand from Canada and Asia.
Beginning in March, the Reedsburg facility will produce whey concentrate for bulk sales in the U.S. and Canada, Johnson said.
The company also plans to launch its own brand of organic whey supplements for women, a demographic Johnson said has been largely ignored in the whey boom.
Johnson is banking on the idea that the success of organic specialty cheesemakers in Wisconsin will benefit her company in the same way.
"It's a whole logistical nightmare trying to coordinate production of organic whey right now," said Jim Cisler, a dairy consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
He estimated there are 125 cheese plants in Wisconsin that produce natural, unprocessed cheese. They create whey as a byproduct. Of those, he said between 25 and 30 have some organic products, and only a few have the ability to process whey on their own.
"I stand on the shoulders of lots of specialty cheesemakers who have tried to do this in the past," Johnson said. "It's been a project that's been cooking around for a long time."
Because of that long-standing desire, many of those cheesemakers have invested in her company, Johnson said, and even more are already planning to sell their whey to Wisconsin Specialty Protein when construction is completed early next year.
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE
A 2005 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wisconsin had the most organic dairy farms in the nation. Wisconsin also has the second-highest number of organic farms of any kind in the U.S. behind California.
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection statistics show the number of organic farms in Wisconsin has risen 90 percent since 2003. Laura Paine, an organic agriculture specialist at the department, estimated that 50 percent of that growth has been in dairy farms.
Since 2005, the number of certified organic processors and handlers in the state has increased 79 percent. Of those, about 30 percent have been makers of organic cheeses and other dairy processors and handlers.
Wisconsin's organic agriculture industry as a whole has grown 17 percent in the last year, according to the ag department.
-- Nick Heynen
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