Meshke Named Distinguished Alumna by South Dakota State University

Sheryl Meshke, president and CEO of Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI), has been named to the 2025 Class of Distinguished Alumni by the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Alumni Association. A 1988 graduate, Meshke is one of six alumni being honored this year.

Honorees will be recognized during SDSU’s Hobo Day celebration, Oct. 10 – 11. The Distinguished Alumni Awards Banquet will take place Friday, Oct. 10, at the Woster Celebration Hall in Brookings, S.D.

Sheryl Meshke, President and CEO

About Sheryl

Sheryl Meshke is the first woman to be named CEO of a U.S. dairy cooperative. In January 2023, she was named president and chief executive officer of AMPI, the largest cheese cooperative in the country. She had served as co-president and CEO for the prior eight years. 

Meshke and then co-president Donn DeVelder led the largest investment in the cooperative’s cheesemaking infrastructure and launched its Dinner Bell Creamery brand in 2019.

Headquartered in New Ulm, Minn., AMPI is owned by dairy farm families from six Midwestern states. Members market about 5 billion pounds of milk, with annual sales of nearly $2 billion. The cooperative makes about 10 percent of the nation’s American-type natural cheese and butter.

Raised on a farm near Good Thunder, Minn., Meshke began her career with AMPI in 1991 as communications director. Government relations responsibilities were added to her duties in the mid-1990s, and, in 2008, she became vice president of public affairs. Other executive positions followed before being named co-CEO in 2015, and president and CEO in 2023.

Click here to view the full SDSU release