MONROE — After providing cheese to the community for over a century, Maple Leaf Cheese Co-op is asking for support following the end of their partnership with Maple Leaf Cheesemakers, Inc.

The cheesemakers announced in October that they would no longer be making cheese in the Monroe factory, which will receive its last batch of milk Dec. 7. Production at the plant will cease operations Dec. 11. 

Co-op members are now asking for the community’s support to heat the farmer-owned factory and pay bills throughout winter. Donations can be made on the co-op’s GoFundMe page, gofundme.com/f/save-the-maple-leaf-cheese-coop.

Co-op President Jeremy Mayer said that each of the impacted 25 farm families in the co-op have found temporary homes for their milk, but they are in the process of creating a new partnership with a new cheesemaking company. In the meantime, the factory will shut down for “two to six months” while plant operations switch over to a new cheesemaker, he said.

“It’s not a very good time in the dairy industry,” Mayer said, “but we’re very confident that the new partner will open the factory back up.” 

The goal is to have the factory reopen by spring. That way, the co-op farmers can continue on with a long-term home for their milk.

“We really realized how important that factory is for the 25 small farms,” he said.

In the first 20 hours, the co-op’s GoFundMe page raised $500 of the $150,000 goal. Though the goal is at $150,000, it will take even more to fully fund the transition, Mayer said.

The cheesemakers decided to cut ties with the co-op, which is made up of 25 Green County farm families, in October after the partnership reached the end of their long-term contract and struggled to reach a future agreement. With no agreement reached, the impending shutdown will put an end to the 38-year partnership.

A new contract had been in the works for around 18 months, but with COVID-19 and a struggling economy, the cheesemakers decided to cease operations at the plant.

Since it was announced in October that the cheesemakers and co-op were cutting ties, the farmers impacted have seen support from all over the community, with people offering to take milk and help with technical assistance, Mayer said. 

“As farmers, we want to be self-reliant, but we need a factory to open,” he said. “We’re looking forward to reopening and having a fresh start.

Thanks to the widespread support the co-op has already seen, they have remained confident in the future.

“We have so many people that have our back,” he said. “It’s humbling to know.”