Sennerei Lingenau reg. Gen.m.b.H.

Sennerei Lingenau reg. Gen.m.b.H. is a small dairy cooperative (Sennerei) based in Lingenau in the Bregenzerwald region of Vorarlberg, Austria. It was founded in 1907 as a small cooperative by a group of Lingenau milk suppliers, at a time when transporting milk was laborious and several small dairies were established in Lingenau and Großdorf so that farmers did not have to carry their milk far. Today the cooperative describes itself as a small Sennerei with 83 milk suppliers in the middle of the Bregenzerwald. The dairy places emphasis on full-value cheese production from silage-free, GMO-free raw milk. Its cows are fed fresh grass, hay and grain; the milk is collected from the farms daily and processed the same day. The cheesemakers (Senner) produce Bergkäse g.U. (protected-designation mountain cheese), Emmentaler and butter according to traditional recipes and with great care. Different ripening times turn the cheese into a speciality. The operation is certified under the Heumilch (hay-milk) seal, which guarantees milk of the best quality produced entirely without fermented feedstuffs. Product-wise, Sennerei Lingenau focuses on cheese specialities from the Bregenzerwald made from daily fresh hay milk. The range includes mountain cheese with protected designation of origin, Emmentaler and butter, and the dairy states that its products are 100% silage-free and GMO-free. It also operates an online shop and a 24-hour self-service cheese vending machine called "Kasimir" that dispenses cheese, butter, milk and a few other small items outside opening hours. The cooperative is regionally embedded and participates in the Bregenzerwald "ich kauf im Wald" initiative: from 6 to 10 May, 64 Bregenzerwald businesses give away herb pots grown in the region, and from 7 to 10 May fresh herbs such as curly parsley, Hugo mint, mountain basil, lemon verbena and oregano are given to customers. The dairy presents this as standing for regionality, quality and community spirit. As a registered cooperative (reg. Gen.m.b.H.), Sennerei Lingenau is privately held by its member milk suppliers rather than listed on a stock exchange. Its team includes a operations manager, several cheesemakers, a cheesemaker apprentice, a milk driver, sales staff and office staff. The brand is positioned as a traditional, small-scale, quality- and region-focused Alpine dairy rather than a large industrial producer.

Sennerei Lingenau was founded in 1907 as a small cooperative by a group of Lingenau milk suppliers. At that time, transporting milk was still laborious, and several small dairies (Sennereien) were established in Lingenau and Großdorf so that the farmers did not have to transport their milk too far. This decentralized, community-based origin shaped the cooperative's character as a local, farmer-owned dairy. Over the decades the cooperative consolidated into a single small Sennerei in Lingenau in the Bregenzerwald, Vorarlberg. It continued to process milk from its member farms and to produce cheese according to traditional recipes. The dairy adopted the hay-milk (Heumilch) production model, under which the cows' main feed is hay and grass and no fermented feedstuffs (silage) are used, and it committed to GMO-free raw milk. By the 2020s the cooperative described itself as a small Sennerei with 83 milk suppliers. Its milk is collected daily from the farms and processed the same day. The cheesemakers produce Bergkäse g.U. (mountain cheese with protected designation of origin), Emmentaler and butter, with different ripening times creating the special character of the cheeses. The dairy also operates an online shop and a 24-hour self-service cheese vending machine named "Kasimir" that offers cheese, butter, milk and a few other small items outside normal opening hours. The cooperative remains regionally embedded, taking part in the Bregenzerwald "ich kauf im Wald" initiative, in which 64 regional businesses gave away herb pots and fresh herbs in May to promote regionality, quality and community. As a registered cooperative (reg. Gen.m.b.H.), it is owned by its member milk suppliers and is not listed on a stock exchange.

• 2024

  Participation in the Bregenzerwald 'ich kauf im Wald' herb-pot and fresh-herb giveaway in May.

• 1907

  Sennerei Lingenau founded as a small cooperative by a group of Lingenau milk suppliers.

• Adoption of hay-milk (Heumilch) production with silage-free, GMO-free raw milk.

• Introduction of the 24-hour self-service cheese vending machine 'Kasimir'.

Traditional small-scale Bregenzerwald dairy cooperative focused on regionality, quality and hay-milk cheese made from silage-free, GMO-free raw milk.

• Bergkäse g.U.

  Mountain cheese with protected designation of origin, produced according to traditional recipe from silage-free, GMO-free raw hay milk.

• Emmentaler

  Emmentaler cheese produced by the cooperative's cheesemakers.

• Butter

  Butter produced from the cooperative's hay milk.

• Milk

  Fresh milk available via the Kasimir vending machine.

1. 1Sennerei Lingenau – Feinster Käser aus der Sennerei Lingenausennerei-lingenau.at
2. 2Über uns – Sennerei Lingenausennerei-lingenau.at
3. 3Sennerei Lingenau reg. Gen.m.b.H. – Wikidatawikidata.org