Fond du Lac Works for Rosendale Dairy

Sustainability Starts Here.

Rosendale Dairy is proud to be a part of the Milk Source family. The organization has been named Innovative Dairy Farm of the Year, WMC Friend of the Environment as well as a finalist for the Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award. This recognition stems from its commitment to become industry leaders in animal care, sustainable farming and agricultural leadership.

Rosendale Dairy, which started operations in 2008, now employs 90 people and its herd produces 85,000 gallons of milk daily (the vast majority of which is used in local cheese production). Our annual economic impact on the greater Pickett/Fond du Lac area is more than $35 million. Wisconsin is called “America’s Dairyland” for good reason.

It has gained a reputation as a leader in sustainable agriculture. Nowhere is that more obvious than the dual biodigester domes adjacent to its southern barn. This $10 million facility — operated by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Clean Energy North America in cooperation with us – processes 240 tons of manure daily to generate 1.4 megawatts of electricity, or simply put, enough energy to power 1,200 homes.

Less obvious, but possibly more meaningful to local residents, is the fact that the dairy has deployed more than five miles of underground pipeline for the transportation of manure – farmers prefer to think of it as “nutrients” – to area crop fields. This has removed more than 8,000 semi-truck loads from the roads, making local transportation safer and area infrastructure more secure.

Speaking of nutrients, a state-of the-art manure processing facility allows Rosendale Dairy to take animal waste and remove and recycle both sand and compost. The former product is the gold standard of bedding for today’s cattle, and the latter is the best fertilizer in the world – and the operation’s second most-profitable product behind milk itself. Rosendale compost is in such high demand that during our annual spring “Compost Day,” we give away tons of free fertilizer to hundreds of Fond du Lac area gardeners. We also spread our all-natural nutrients on local organic farmland to help their proprietors steer clear of synthetic, foreign-made products.

Animal welfare and care remain a top priority. Rosendale Dairy hosts more than 5,000 visitors a year, many of whom are dairy industry leaders from across the world (In 2014 alone, it hosted tours for farmers from all the continents … except Antarctica). The facility’s climate-controlled, cross-ventilated barns allow our cows to be comfortable regardless of Wisconsin’s steamy summers or — more commonly — freezing winters.

Rosendale Dairy is owned by multi-generation family farmers who started on a 30-cow dairy in nearby Kaukauna, WI. Another generation of the family is working its way up the ranks, from the bottom up, including long days in the barn with shovel and pitchfork duty.

We are proud corporate citizens of the Fond du Lac area and proud to invest in area schools, food pantries and emergency services. We believe in our credo, “Sustainability Starts Here.”

Rosendale Dairy