5 Fascinating Things About CROPPies

On the fifth day of the fifth month Organic Valley had five things on its minds. Visit Rootstock for five days to be even more fascinated!

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There are five fascinating things you may not know about Organic Valley unless you are a CROPPie — a what? CROPPie. It’s what we fondly call Organic Valley team members. This is where it may get confusing. CROPP Cooperative is the umbrella business to which farmers are members, and which owns the Organic Valley brand. CROPP stands for Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools. Add “ies” to CROPP and you get CROPPies. Enough of that. Here are five fascinating things about CROPPies.

1. CROPPies work in a barn (kind of). Organic Valley’s main office buildings are in Cashton and La Farge, Wisconsin. The buildings, which are 100% renewably powered, are shaped like barns, complete with a silo at the Cashton Office Building (COB). Baseboards are reclaimed ash that was recovered from trees destroyed from emerald ash borer and many conference tables are made from boards from a barn that once stood on the property in Cashton.

In the fall, it felt like a farm as goats took over the Cashton campus. The goats were brought in to eat invasive species as an eco-friendly way to restore a prairie and oak savanna.

2. CROPPies are surrounded by great food. While some positions at Organic Valley are remote or hybrid, sometimes it’s worth coming in just for the food. Yep! The on-site cafeterias are calling. There are home-cooked organic meals weekdays at the COB and La Farge buildings. The food is the real deal with chefs leading the kitchens and there is always ice-cold Organic Valley milk for CROPPies to enjoy.

There are also Organic Valley retail stores that are open to the public and great places for CROPPies to pick up snacks and a range of organic products and fresh produce. Thank goodness there are full workout facilities in our office buildings. Bonus, there’s a sand volleyball court at the La Farge campus.

3. There are about 900 CROPPies. What started as seven farmers getting together 30-plus years ago looking for a way for farmers to make a sustainable living has grown and grown. Organic Valley's founding farmers felt organic farming could be the means to saving small family farms while delivering great food to organic consumers. The 900 CROPPies and nearly 1,800 Organic Valley farmers agree and couldn't do it without you, the consumer. Thank you.

4. The décor CROPPies are surrounded by at Organic Valley facilities is unique and often leads to a double take. There are cow murals, inspirational quotes and there’s an entire tractor and a bunch of old truck tailgates hanging on the walls. The tractor, a 1949 CO-OP Brand E3 tractor, was dismantled, painted and affixed to the wall aligning the spiral staircase near COB’s front entrance.

5. And this may be the most fascinating thing about being a CROPPie (or at least it is for this writer); it’s the sense of pride that fills you when you arrive at the office and see that big “Organic Valley” sign. Every day, CROPPies are fortunate to do their part to save small family farms — farms that go above and beyond organic animal care standards, work to protect the planet and produce quality food that is raised sustainably. Now that is fascinating.

Organic Valley is always looking to add CROPPies to the team. Check out Organic Valley job listings.