Every year, Swiss Valley Farms Cooperative gives out eight scholarships to its members’ children who are attending colleges and technical schools.

Five of these scholarships are for students pursuing agriculture-related degrees with the rest going to students seeking degrees in other fields.

Taylor Runkle of Kent, Ill., is the recipient of a $500 scholarship from Swiss Valley Farms for agriculture studies. Taylor is the daughter of Swiss Valley Farms member David Runkle and a 2013 graduate of Pearl City High School. In the fall, she will attend UW–Platteville where she plans to major in Agronomy Horticulture.

Nicole Vlasak of Elroy is the recipient of a $500 scholarship from Swiss Valley Farms for agriculture studies. Nicole is the daughter of Swiss Valley Farms members Steven and Sherry Vlasak and a 2010 graduate of Royall High School in Elroy. Nicole currently attends UW–Platteville where she is majoring in Animal Science with a dairy emphasis.

Aaron Stauffacher of Darlington is the recipient of a $500 Swiss Valley scholarship for a non-agriculture major. Aaron is the son of Swiss Valley Farms member Jay Stauffacher and a 2010 graduate of Darlington High School. He currently attends UW–Stevens Point and is pursuing degrees in Economics and Political Science.

Swiss Valley Farms is a dairy cooperative with five cheese production facilities, located in Luana, Iowa, Shullsburg and Mindoro, and Spring Valley and Faribault, Minn. In a joint venture with Emmi-Roth Käse USA, Swiss Valley Farms also co-operates White Hill Cheese Co., LLC in Shullsburg. Swiss Valley Farms has 800 dairy producer members in Iowa, Wisconsin, northern Illinois and southern Minnesota.