Marieke Gouda of Thorp has been awarded a state Dairy Processor Grant totaling $41,000.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced Tuesday that seven Wisconsin dairy companies will receive a Dairy Processor Grant.
“The purpose of these grants is to help foster innovation, improve profitability, and sustain the long-term viability of Wisconsin’s dairy processing facilities,” the agency wrote in a press release announcing the funds.
DATCP said Marieke Marketing etc., LLC will use the dollars to “upgrade its packaging and shipping operations to meet growing packaged cheese demand.”
Marieke Penterman, owner of Marieke Gouda, was not available for comment Tuesday. The Thorp cheesemaker was the only grant recipient this round from western Wisconsin.
Since 2014, DATCP has received 244 Dairy Processor Grant proposals requesting more than $10 million. DATCP has funded 128 of those proposals, totaling $2.9 million.
“Wisconsin’s dairy processors are a vital part of Wisconsin’s dairy and agriculture supply chain, and we have been proud to invest in their growth and success in recent budgets,” said Gov. Tony Evers in the press release. “Dairy is core to who we are as a state. These grants play an important role in supporting this critical industry across our state. I look forward to continuing to advocate for and invest in producers and processors and their success in America’s Dairyland.”
A total of $200,000 is available for the next round of Dairy Processor Grants, as part of the biennial budget. Eligible applicants must operate a licensed dairy processing plant in Wisconsin that is engaged in pasteurizing, processing, or manufacturing milk or dairy products. Funding from these grants can be used to address a wide range of dairy business needs such as food safety, staff training, plant expansion or modernization, and professional consulting services.
“Processors are part of the reason that Wisconsin is known as a leader in dairy,” said DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski. “This grant investment supports Wisconsin’s dairy processors as they stay at the forefront of emerging technologies, sustainability, and growth.”
Grants will be awarded for projects up to $50,000 and two years long. Processors must provide a match of 20% of the grant amount. Recipients will be chosen through a competitive selection process.
Last year, the Thorp cheese factory produced more than 1 million pounds of gouda. Between the factory, retail store and creamery, they now employ about 50 workers.In June 2022, Gov. Tony Evers stopped and toured the shop, where Penterman showed off the $3 million expansion of her cheese factory.
Penterman previously said the expansion has doubled the size of Holland’s Family Cheese from 14,000 square feet to 28,000 square feet. The new building is a cheese aging room. It allowed them to expand from storing 9,000 wheels of cheese to about 60,000 wheels. All the wheels are stored at about 55 degrees Fahrenheit until they are ready for consumption.
Penterman opened her cheese operation 20 years ago, with about 400 cows on site. Marieke and her husband, Rolf, are natives of the Netherlands and grew up on farms there. She operated the gouda store as Holland Family Cheese on a farm southeast of Thorp for six years before she moved to their current location in 2013, wanting the visibility along Highway 29.
Thorp officials gave them a conditional use permit to have up to 435 cows on their 100-acre parcel in city limits, although it’s not in a residential area.
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