Rogue Creamery of Central Point, Ore., and Dairy West, representing Idaho and Utah dairy farmers, have won U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards hosted by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.

The awards recognize exceptional farms, businesses and partnerships for their socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound practices and technologies that have a broad and positive impact.

“Our 2021 winners put U.S. dairy’s great diversity on full display with farms and businesses of all sizes, from coast to coast, showing how dairy is an environmental solution,” Barbara O’Brien, CEO of the Innovation Center, said in a press release announcing the winners.

Rogue Creamery won the Outstanding Dairy Processing and Manufacturing Sustainability Award.

Known for its award-winning cheeses, Rogue Creamery has a clear mission — “people dedicated to sustainability, service and the art and tradition of creating the world’s finest handmade cheese.”

In October 2019, Rogue Creamery was rewarded for its high standards as the first American cheese maker to be named Grand Champion at the World Cheese Awards. But owner David Gremmels’ commitment to excellence extends far beyond cheese making to business practices that create a culture around doing the right thing.

Driven to use business as a force for good, Rogue Creamery became Oregon’s first certified B Corporation in 2014, inspiring other like-minded businesses to follow suit and pursue the rigorous certification. It has led the way in renewable energy and waste reduction.

When wildfires caused devastation and evacuations in southern Oregon in 2020, Rogue Creamery created a campaign to donate thousands of pounds of cheese to area food banks.

The creamery’s commitment to quality, sustainability and doing the right thing has substantial, sustainable impacts within its community and beyond — enlightening partners, neighbors and customers worldwide.

Dairy West won the award for Outstanding Community Impact — Pandemic Response.

In the spring of 2020, Dairy West spearheaded the Curds + Kindness initiative to relieve COVID-19-related supply chain pressures and deliver dairy products to hungry people in communities throughout Idaho and Utah.

The industrywide effort matched excess milk supply with available regional processing, allowing Dairy West to purchase, at cost, and donate more than 1 million pounds of product, which helped 500,000-plus families across the region.

In addition to donating products through food banks, food pantries and schools, Dairy West shared the goodness of dairy with frontline workers, people in shelters and youth in need through community activations in June and December.

Other sustainability award winners are: Red Sunset Farms, Mifflintown, Pa.; MVP Dairy, Celina, Ohio; Goodrich Farm, Salisbury, Vt.; Grande Cheese, Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance and Farmers for Sustainable Food, southwest Wisconsin; and Calgren Dairy Fuels, Maas Energy Works and 15 California family dairy farms.

The awards are judged by an independent panel of dairy and conservation experts.

A formal celebration of the winners is tentatively scheduled in conjunction with the Dairy Sustainability Alliance fall meeting in Las Vegas Nov. 18-19.

For information about the industry’s sustainability work and the Dairy Checkoff, visit www.usdairy.com.