Creamery Finds a ‘Whey’ to be More Resourceful
Mar 16, 2022 (Westby, WI)
Westby Cooperative Creamery has invested $1 million as a ‘whey’ to become more resourceful in its cottage cheese making process. Being the only cottage cheese manufacturer in Wisconsin, the Creamery takes great pride in turning it into something that’s both good for you and good for the environment.
The demand for Westby cottage cheese has continued to grow over the years, and in turn, so has the byproduct of cottage cheese – acid whey. In making cottage cheese, approximately 14% of the skim milk is turned into cheese and the remaining is acid whey, which can be difficult to dispose of. Before March 2020, the Creamery was able to sell all the acid whey, but since then the market has made disposal of acid whey very difficult.
With the uncertainty in the future of this byproduct, Westby Creamery made the decision to process the whey at the plant by installing equipment that will filter out the protein, solids and water.
Doing so allows the Creamery to sell the filtered material in a more desirable form to a wider customer base. The whey is turned into two usable products – permeate as animal feed and protein, which gets sold and is often used as an ingredient in nutritional supplements. It is the goal of the Creamery to eventually re-use the water consumed from filtering acid whey.
The Creamery has invested one million dollars into this project and in turn, expects to process 6.9 million gallons of whey in 2022.
“As a dairy cooperative with over 145 small family farms that make their living off the land, we have a responsibility to actively research and invest in practices that help better our environment and the communities we live in. Turning acid whey into a usable product is one way we can do this,” said Pete Kondrup, the Creamery’s general manager.
Westby Cooperative Creamery dairy products are widely distributed in the Upper Midwest. To find a store near you, visit store locator and enter your zip code. Or, stop by the Westby Creamery Cheese Store at 206 South Main Street, Westby.
