Lynn Dairy

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deproteinized whey and lactose with Lynn Proteins, a sibling venture to Lynn Dairy that was established in 1971.

Lactose is used to bake, make candy and even craft beer. They try to use as much byproducts as they can and find that their farmers and customers appreciate that sustainability.

With all this growth it would be easy for Lynn Dairy to lose sight of its employees, especially with about 160 people on the payroll, but that just hasn’t been the case. Several of their team members have been with the company for 20 or 30 years, and Peterson states that each one of them takes pride in what they do.

“It’s 100% passion, people honestly just care,” Steponik said.

They report that working at Lynn Dairy and Lynn Proteins feels like working for family, with Peterson stating that the management and CEO are present and always willing to lend a hand.

“Bill walks through the plant every day. You have a face with that signature on your check,” she said of president Bill Schwantes. When original purchaser Walter Schwantes passed away, his son, William W. Schwantes, took the reins before retiring in 1985 and leaving Bill in charge.

“We can all say we’re family ourselves,” Steponik said.

Lynn Dairy has stood the test of time, not only in their automation but in their retail market. They do this by going with the flow, taking whatever their farmers have to throw at them by way of production and making it work. It’s a team effort, and it goes to show that the dairy industry, just like the team at Lynn Dairy, really is a community.

“I don’t think there’s any way we’re ever going to go away from that,” Peterson said.