Michigan foodies soon might throw out imported cheese for Leelanau Swiss cheese or Grand Rapids chèvre.
With the help of the MSU Product Center for Agricultural and Natural Resources, 11 Michigan cheesemakers will work together to promote and market local artisanal cheeses as the Michigan Cheese Makers Cooperative.
“It is going to give the cheesemakers vision and sustainability in the industry,” said Matt Birbeck, a supply chain specialist and project consultant for the MSU Product Center for Agricultural and Natural Resources.
“It will allow people in the state of Michigan to realize there is a really good growing cheese industry here.”
The cooperative is funded with a nearly $15,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development, Birbeck said.
Members of the cooperative will market and advertise their local products together, which will differentiate them from other cheesemakers, Birbeck said.
“It’s a branding opportunity to show if you are a member of this cooperative, then you are a very cool cheesemaker with artisanal values, like making handmade cheese and using Michigan milk,” he said.
Members of the cooperative include the MSU Dairy Store, Cowslip Creamery in Grand Rapids, Zingerman’s Creamery in Ann Arbor, Four Corners Creamery in Tecumseh and Greenbush Farms in
St. Johns.
The cooperative especially will be beneficial for small cheese companies, said Sue Spagnuolo, owner of Greenbush Farms.
“It will just make a stronger voice for smaller cheesemakers like myself,” she said.
“We all will be working together to produce and market artisanal cheese in Michigan. There isn’t many of us, but there are some awesome cheesemakers in Michigan.”
The product center helped form the cooperative and provided the cheesemakers with resources for the cooperative, MSU product center director Chris Peterson said.
“Even though they are going to, in essence, keep their individual business names, by banding together they can create group efforts,” he said.
“(They’ll) be able to provide a larger supply of goods to retailers collectively than they could if each marketer did it on their own.”
Peterson said the cooperative is essential for the growth of small cheesemakers.
“It is sometimes very difficult for smaller businesses to really gain a foothold in terms of getting their products distributed broadly into food system,” he said.
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