At Crandall Dairy Farms LLC in Battle Creek, Michigan, elite milk quality is their measuring stick. The farm's 350-cow herd has received six consecutive National Dairy Quality Awards and numerous Michigan Milk Producers Association gold quality awards. The team works together, reviewing weekly and monthly lab reports to focus on the fine details of animal care in order to be competitive in today's dairy business. As the fifth generation on the farm, Mark and Brad Crandall work alongside a dedicated team of employees in continuous pursuit of higher-quality milk.

After emigrating to the United States from the Netherlands, Klaas and Mares Vanderploeg established Vanderploeg Holsteins in Ithaca, Michigan. They began the operation with 190 cows and have since grown to milk 3,500 cows in a state-of-the-art, 72-unit rotary parlor. Today, the Vanderploegs, along with their children, Tony, Alex, Louise, and their daughter-in-law, Nicole, are passionate about sharing their family farm with consumers. Their expansive operation features direct load tankers, a sand recycler and a separate parallel parlor for fresh cows, utilizing the farm's original structures to maximize farm productivity while still focusing on milk quality.

Neogen Corporation is one of the largest food and animal safety companies committed to global food security headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. Products and services from Neogen can be found through every part of the dairy value chain. The company’s Food Safety segment markets dehydrated culture media and diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, food allergens, drug residues, plant diseases, and sanitation concerns. Neogen's Animal Safety segment is a leader in the development of genomic solutions along with the manufacturing and distribution of a variety of animal healthcare products, including diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, veterinary instruments, wound care, and disinfectants, as well as rodent and insect control solutions. On this tour you will see state of the art manufacturing of Food Safety diagnostic products many dairy companies use around to detect pathogens and prevent spoilage of dairy products.

Sit back, relax and enjoy good food and camaraderie at The Lansing Brewing Company, one of the first breweries established in Lansing in 1897. This popular establishment serves as a living testament to the hard-working men and women who built their great city, embracing their roots while heralding in a new beer-loving generation.

In 2008, Proliant Dairy Ingredients opened the doors of a state-of-the-art whey permeate processing facility in the state of Minnesota next door to a Land O' Lakes cheese plant. From day one, the commitment has been to produce the highest quality whey permeate while developing demand for permeate food applications by demonstrating the value and functionality of a whey byproduct considered for years to be only a feed ingredient. In 2020, Proliant opened a new plant in St John's, Michigan, which will be on the tour visit. This facility has the largest permeate drier in the world and adjoins the Glanbia Nutritionals, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Select Milk Producers Inc. new joint-venture, large-scale cheese and whey production facility. Proliant manufactures a high-quality, cost-effective, soluble dairy product solid (Whey Permeate), using advanced technologies, so that the product naturally agglomerates and is non-hygroscopic, non-caking, non-bridging and free-flowing. Proliant produces 65,000 MT in its St John's, MI Facility per year, and exports to over 30 countries.

Note: during this tour, you may expect to ascend/descend at least three flights of stairs.

MWC is a large-scale cheese and whey protein manufacturing facility in St. Johns, Michigan. It is a joint venture between Glanbia PLC, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), and Select Milk Producers Inc. (Select). MWC processes over 2.9 billion pounds (1.3 billion kilograms) of milk and will produce over 300 million pounds (136 million kilograms) of superior block cheese and 20 million pounds (9.1 million kilograms) of value-added whey protein powders each year. Employing nearly 260 employees, MWC makes world-class products of the highest quality to be sold worldwide. Tour visitors will have the opportunity to walk through this state-of-the-art facility, which invested 48,000 training hours before starting up, to observe the different cheese-making stages and the whey filtration process.

The Klondike Cheese Company, a fourth-generation family-owned cheese company, is still located on the original site established by the Buholzer family in the late 1800s. Known for producing award winning cheese, including Feta, Muenster, Brick and Havarti cheeses, Klondike also produces Greek yogurt. The secret to Klondike's quality is the combination of using state-of-the-art equipment, their very own special recipes and time-honored traditions of cheesemaking. In fact, Klondike is home to five Master Cheesemakers including the three Buholzer brothers - Ron, Dave and Steve - along with Steve's son, Adam, who represents the fourth generation, as well as two additional cheesemakers, including Steve's son-in-law. The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® program is an advanced training program administered by the Center for Dairy Research and is the only one of its kind in the U.S.

Larson Acres focuses on three key things that are the foundation of everything they do as a family dairy business — quality, pride and family. They take great pride in the top-quality product they produce for consumers across America. But it's not just about the milk they produce. For generations, the family has taken pride in how they care for their animals, how they protect the environment, how they plan for the future, how they treat their employees and how they give back to the community in which they live.

Their facilities enhance cow comfort, protect the environment, and allow the family farm business to be sustainable well into the future:

• Cross-ventilated and conventional free stall barns
• Double-20 and Double-22 BouMatic milking parlors
• Transition/maternity area
• Sand/solid separation
• Greenstar operation system (GPS cropping)
• In-house manure/nutrient management
• Employee focus – FARM program, education, onboarding, low turnover
• 2400 cows milked, 108 lbs (49 kgs) energy corrected

Hinchley Dairy Farm Tours and Hinchley Dairy Farm are owned by Tina and Duane Hinchley who farm with their daughter Anna, a recent graduate from University of Wisconsin-Madison. At that time, Hinchleys expanded the farm, adding four Lely robots and growing to 240 cows. A strong proponent of agri-tourism and education, the Hinchleys have been hosting dairy farm tours for over 25 years, educating thousands of school children, families, and international visitors annually about dairy farming and the milk that cows make for so many nutritional dairy products. Today, the Hinchley Dairy Farm herd consists of over 400 registered dairy cattle and 2,500 tillable acres (1,012 hectares).

Dairy isn't just a key economic engine of the state—the dairy industry IS Wisconsin. Every wedge of world-class cheese is an ambassador for the values that make Wisconsin the special place it is. 95% of the dairy farms in Wisconsin are family owned, and 90% of the milk produced in Wisconsin goes into making cheese. Immerse yourself in America's Dairyland with cuisine, culture, and conversation while connecting with Wisconsin's pride – farmers, processors, and industry professionals; Speak with Master Cheesemakers, R&D specialists, technology gurus and explore how Wisconsin brings sustainable practices forward to continue driving innovation and growth for its dairy industry.

Headquartered in DeForest, Wisconsin, USA, ABS Global, a division of Genus plc, is the world-leading provider of bovine genetics, reproduction services, technologies, and udder care products. Marketing in more than 70 countries around the globe, ABS has been at the forefront of animal genetics and technology since its founding in 1941. In bovine genetics, ABS serves more than 40,000 customers globally, including some of the world's leading beef and dairy producers. ABS Global owns bull studs in Europe, North America, Latin America, and India, selling genetics to dairy and beef customers in North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Genus is a British-based company leader in porcine and bovine genetics market. The company is committed to developing better pigs and cows for farmers by selecting animals with desirable characteristics that help them to produce higher quality meat and milk more sustainably.

The Center for Dairy Research (CDR) offers the expertise of more than 30 researchers, scientists and cheesemakers with combined experience in food and dairy manufacturing. CDR's mission is to support the dairy industry through research, training, and troubleshooting. Supported by dairy farmer checkoff dollars, CDR is world-leading in cheese and dairy product development, cheese and dairy as ingredients, contract research, and troubleshooting for product and process manufacturing. The Center's research focuses on understanding the various aspects of cheese, as well as the microbes and processes that affect safety, quality, texture and flavor. CDR is well-known for its technical training programs; conducting around 25 short courses each year and training more than 1,200 industry employees annually in cheese, dairy proteins, cultured products, butter, cheese grading, processing, beverages, and sensory. CDR recently moved into its new three-story, state-of-the-art research center, located in Babcock Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. To learn more about CDR or view short videos about the new Center, equipment, and capabilities, visit https://www.cdr.wisc.edu.

Kleine Dairy is the quintessential Indiana dairy farm, one of almost 700 in the state. This multi-generational farm milks around 120 cows that seasonally grazes on the surrounding pasture. Kleine Dairy has hosted local, state and national representatives while offering agritourism on the farm, with a fall pumpkin patch and sightseeing on the farm to help the public experience where their milk comes from. Kleine Dairy will showcase their pasture grazing management practices and calf care strategies as a small family farm. Visitors will also see on-farm diversification with agritourism opportunities to bring the surrounding public to the farm.