Kansas dairyman finds way to get better milk prices

DURHAM, Kan. -- Two years ago, Kansas dairyman Jason Wiebe took a couple of gallons of milk from his Holstein herd and -- with a cheese making book as his only guide -- made his first batch of cheddar cheese in his farmhouse kitchen.

As the third generation on his dairy farm, Wiebe was frustrated with the lack of control over milk prices and was desperately looking for a way to get a better price for his milk products.

"It was kind of scary -- making that first batch of cheese," he said.

From those tentative early beginnings, Wiebe and his wife, Sheri, have built what today is one of the few commercial cheese-making operations left in the state. Over the years, Kansas lost its cheese-making operations when they couldn't compete with the nation's big cheese makers.

Until Wiebe came along, the only large-scale commercial cheese-making company that remained in the state was Wichita's Hiland Dairy. But it only makes cottage cheese. The only other cheese maker in Kansas was Kansas State University, which has a processing plant making Cheddar and colby cheeses as part of its educational program.

But that trend may now be reversing as more Kansas dairymen fed up with low raw milk prices look to on-farm processing options, said Kansas dairy commissioner George Blush.

"Society as a whole has more disposable income and is willing to pay higher prices for these homegrown, value-added products," Blush said. "Consumers want to be more in touch with where their food comes from."

The renewed interest in making cheese in Kansas comes at a time when the state's 543 dairy farms bumped up production nearly 25 percent between 2001 and 2002 -- moving Kansas into the top 20 of U.S. dairy producing states.

Kansas was one of 29 states that posted milk production increases last year -- so much of an increase that the state ranked first in increased production. Kansas now produces 1.6 billion pounds of milk each year.

At the Wiebe farm, the cheese-making operations have come a long way since the day Jason Wiebe made his first batch of Cheddar.

Sheri Wiebe took over the cheese-making operations while the business was still small enough -- when they made less than 40 pounds of cheese -- to operate it in their kitchen.

The number of regular customers quickly grew to 200 people who came to their remote farm to buy farm-fresh cheddar. They make two cheddar varieties, including one with bits of Jalapeno peppers.

But once demand outgrew the kitchen, the couple built a separate facility for it on their farm. Jason Wiebe -- with some occasional hired help -- is now again the cheese maker.

A motorized stainless steel mixing tank, a huge pasteurization vat, manual cheese press, walk-in refrigerator, vacuum-packaging equipment and the other cheese making accouterments fill their cheese plant.

"At first, I wondered why in the world I had taken on so much work," Jason Wiebe said. "But it is going better. Basically, I enjoy making cheese."

On Feb. 7, they made their first batch of state-inspected, pasteurized cheese. For the first time, they would be able to sell their cheese, under the name Eleanor's Farmhouse Cheese, in stores. The name is in recognition of a Canadian woman who gave them an early recipe for cheddar.

The cheese is sold mostly at farmers markets and area mom-and-pop grocery stores because is difficult to produce the volume of cheese the big grocery chains want to get their product in the door.

Besides, they are trying to sell a fresh cheese -- not something that has been sitting on somebody's store shelf for months, Jason Wiebe said.

Today, the couple try to make cheese at least once a week. They use 5,000 pounds of milk -- less than a day's milk production from their 100 cows -- to make 550 pounds of cheese at a time.

"It is not as good as it looks at first glance. It could be very profitable if I could do two batches a week," Jason Wiebe said.

Wiebe figures that when they first started making cheese in the kitchen, they were getting about $2 an hour for their labor. By the time they were making 40 pounds of cheese in their kitchen, he figured they were making $8 to $10 an hour for their work.

It is not profitable now, he said. It was a big jump to go from making 40 pounds in the kitchen to making 550 pounds in their new cheese factory.

"We're still learning," Sheri Wiebe said.

At the farm, the couple sell their cheese for $3.50 a pound. They sell it to stores at wholesale prices of $3.25 to $3.35 a pound. The stores mark up their prices to between $4.09 to $4.99 a pound.

Potentially, the dairy could turn all its milk into cheese -- but that would require hiring more help. Right now, they are happy to hire people occasionally for just a few hours to help with what is still essentially a one-man operation.

"I like challenges. Sometimes, I bite off more than I can chew," Jason Wiebe said. "I can be challenged for years here."