Swiss Valley Farms history

In 1962, MVMPA purchased the Buckhorn Co-op Creamery, Maquoketa, Iowa.

Acquired in 1967 when Swiss Valley Farms merged with the Northeast Iowa Dairy Cooperative, the Luana Swiss cheese plant became one of the cooperative's flagship cheese plants.

Farmers Mutual and Hopkinton brought with them farm supply businesses, which were combined in 1969 to create MVMPA's Ag Service division.

Central Dairy Co-op of St Olaf, Iowa, was added in January 1970, joined later in the year by Farmers Co-op Creamery.

In 1971, Swiss Valley Farms renovated this plant to produce a popular specialty cheese, traditional Emmenthaler Swiss, in 100-lb blocks.

Next, in March 1972 MVMPA merged with the Brookside Dairy of Dubuque.

MVMPA completed three further acquisitions in 1977: Wilton Milk Products of Wilton, Iowa; Jones Dairy of Corydon, Iowa; and Potter Cheese Factories Inc., with operations in Hokah, Minnesota, and New Albin, Iowa.

Finally, in February 1988 Swiss Valley acquired the Gunder Cheese Factory in Gunder, Iowa. It proved so successful that in 1981 MVMPA changed its name to Swiss Valley Farms Company.

In 1985 Swiss Valley acquired Houston, Minnesota-based Ridgeway Creamery and Farmers Creamery Company, located in Bangor, Wisconsin.

Potter Cheese was closed and sold in 1986, as was Mid-Port Co-op Creamery.

In 1987, SVF consolidated all of its milk bottling to the Dubuque, Iowa, facility and began producing cultured dairy products at its Cedar Rapids facility, such as cottage cheese, sour cream, dips and yogurt.

Finally, in February 1988 Swiss Valley acquired the Gunder Cheese Factory in Gunder, Iowa.

A search for an automated system led to Delkor Systems of Minneapolis, Minnesota, which in 1990 acquired the Spot-Pak packaging system from a Canadian developer.

Gunder Cheese Factory was closed and sold in 1991, as was Wisconsin's Livingston Creamery and the Hampshire, Illinois operation acquired from Certified Grocers Midwest.

In 1996 Dyersville, Iowa-based C-Store was acquired.

The following month the co-op's chief executive officer since 1997, Eugene Quast, resigned in a surprise move.

In August 1999 Swiss Valley and Land O'Lakes reached agreement on a joint venture deal that would have combined the two co-op's six milk and juice bottling plants and a pair of cultured products plants.

In 2001, this specialty cheese plant was expanded and remodeled, doubling its size.

With annual sales between Swiss Valley and Rochester reaching the $500 million mark, and anticipating annual growth of 15 percent for the next five years, Swiss Valley in 2002 had outgrown its headquarters.

In the culture products area Swiss Valley added new snack dips and introduced a new yogurt recipe, which garnered the blueberry yogurt first prize at the 2005 World Dairy Expo Dairy Products Competition.

In the autumn of 2007 it acquired the property and facilities of the Shullsburg creamery located in Shullsburg, Wisconsin.

In June 2009, Swiss Valley Farms sold its Dubuque bottling plant to Prairie Farms, another nationally recognized dairy cooperative.

In August of 2010, Swiss Valley Farms acquired Faribault Dairy.

Here, the company made Baby Swiss wheels, loaves and no-salt-added Swiss blocks until production was transfered to White Hill Cheese Co., LLC in 2011.