MONROE – One of the state's oldest cheese plants has filed for bankruptcy in an effort to save the business. Jeremy Mayer, president of the Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative said the Chapter 11 filing was a way for the cooperative to restructure its debts and buy time for the 110-year-old cooperative to find a new partner after the 24-year partnership with Maple Leaf Cheesemakers Inc. ended on Nov. 20, 2020. Bob Bade, treasurer and milk producer for Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative, said the farmer-owned cooperative was notified by Maple Leaf Cheesemakers Inc. that it was no longer economically viable to keep making cheese at the Monroe-based plant.