Unbeatable Butter: Meet the sisters giving Wisconsin’s favorite spread the spotlight it deserves

Wisconsin is filled with beer & cheese lovers. But a pair of Columbus sisters are committed to putting another kind of dairy on the map: artisan butter.

“Everybody wants Wisconsin butter,” Jennifer Orchard said.

Jennifer is a seventh-generation dairy farmer who co-owns Royal Guernsey Creamery with her sister, Julie.

“Our butter is strictly the cream from cows and salt. It’s just two ingredients,” she explained.

While their family farm dates back to 1943, the sisters only started making butter in 2016. Now, they say they’re still the only Wisconsin farmers making butter exclusively from their own cows’ milk.

🧈 WATCH: On the farm at the Royal Guernsey Creamery in Columbus

Why butter?

“We were looking for a way to make our farm more sustainable for future generations and found that a premium product (like butter) would take advantage of that fresh milk we have,” Julie said.

In addition to standard, salted butter, Royal Guernsey Creamery makes two flavored spreads: cinnamon and their signature, roasted garlic. All three are available for purchase online (they ship–click here to shop!), as well as a handful of local grocery stores (like Metcalfe’s Market) across the state.

And don’t just take our word this is the best butter you’ve ever tasted: the creamery’s salted butter was named the Grand Champion Butter at last summer’s Wisconsin State Fair!

Looking for new ways to use Wisconsin butter? Check out the sisters’ recipe blog below, and learn how to make everything from brat buns and croissants to grilled corn and pasta sauce!

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