Rueben Nilsson was recently hired to manage the Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence at UW-River Falls. University officials say his background that involves operating small- and larger-size dairy plants makes him the perfect choice to oversee the newly renovated $9 million dairy pilot plant at UW-River Falls. 

UW-River Falls hires new dairy pilot plant manager 

Rueben Nilsson’s cheese-making background will serve him well in new role, officials say

Dec. 13, 2023 - As Rueben Nilsson makes his way through the maze of shiny metallic equipment that fill the Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, it quickly becomes evident that dairy plants are second nature to him. 

Milk tanks. Separators. Pasteurizers. As Nilsson moves from one dairy-related device to another, he describes how each works and will play its role in turning milk into cheese and ice cream in this dairy plant. 

That knowledge comes from Nilsson’s nearly two decades spent in the dairy industry. He has worked in numerous jobs at several dairy plants and has overseen operations at them. Those experiences prompted UW-River Falls officials to hire Nilsson to manage the university’s dairy pilot plant. He replaces Michelle Farner, who spent a decade making the new dairy plant a reality before leaving in November.

“I wanted to return to the vats, to have a direct hand in helping create what gets produced,” Nilsson said when asked what attracted him to oversee the UW-River Falls dairy pilot plant. “I really do enjoy the ins and outs of creating, of working on details and being able to find ways to make better-tasting products.”

Nilsson has a background in food science and decided he wanted to make artisanal cheese. He worked at the Caves of Faribault in Faribault, Minn., from 2006-14, helping make high-quality cheeses. He left there to help operate the small dairy plant Lone Grazer Creamery in Minneapolis, which built a reputation as a high-end cheese producer before it closed in 2018. 

Nilsson returned to Caves of Faribault, then left there to oversee the building of the Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery in Menomonie, which opened in 2022. 

“Through the years, as my career in dairy progressed, I wore all the different hats,” Nilsson said. “Now I’m excited to see what I can do with the dairy plant here at UW-River Falls.”

Those experiences will serve Nilsson well as he seeks to turn the new dairy pilot plant into an operation in which students learn how to make dairy products and that will serve as a training site for the dairy industry. The plant also will serve as a “test site” of sorts, Nilsson said, a place to experiment a bit with different varieties of cheese and ice cream. 

The longtime dairy plant at UW-River Falls ceased operations five years ago because of outdated equipment. Farner and other UW-River Falls officials started work five years before that to build a modern, updated version of the plant. The dairy plant was renamed for the Wuethrich Family Foundation and Grassland Dairy Products, Inc., of Greenwood, after $1 million in donations helped make the plant a reality.

After struggles along the way, the new 6,000 square-foot, $9 million plant was officially opened at a celebration in October. Nilsson is fine-tuning plant operations and said he hopes to begin producing dairy products as soon as January.  

Farner got to know Nilsson several years ago. She took students in a dairy manufacturing class to visit the Lone Grazer Creamery he operated. She was impressed with his dairy plant background and skill set, and she recommended that he be hired to replace her.

“Rueben has vast knowledge of quality assurance, cheese production, entrepreneurship and education,” Farner said. “When I learned he was seeking a new opportunity, I knew he would fit in nicely as the next dairy plant manager at the UW-River Falls.”

Given his varied background across a range of dairy plant jobs and different-sized processing plants, Nilsson was a strong choice to replace Farner, said Michael Orth, dean of the UW-River Falls College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES).  

“With his expertise in small batch artisan cheeses, he will be a great fit for the type of projects that he, along with faculty, students, and industry personnel, will undertake here,” Orth said of Nilsson.

In fact, Orth and Farner said they see Nilsson as the perfect person to transition from the dairy pilot plant that Farner helped create to an operating plant that will serve as a test site that educates students and industry workers while producing high-quality cheese and ice cream. 

“I look forward to seeing how he will bring to fruition the vision that our college and industry had 10 years ago when the commitment to renovate and upgrade the dairy plant was made,” Orth said. 

Nilsson is eager to do just that. He sees great potential in the positive impact the dairy pilot plant can have on Wisconsin’s dairy industry. Nilsson is a self-described cheese aficionado, as evidenced by several varieties of artisanal cheese on his desk on a recent afternoon. He said he hasn’t produced ice cream yet but looks forward to that experience.

“I get to help the dairy industry and students learn. I get to make this a place where we can experiment a bit and create and fine-tune products,” he said. “For me, this is a dream job.”