# A Picture Tour Through Our Operation



## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

I have had many requests and questions about our family operation here at Morningland Dairy and Cheese Plant. We took over the operation from the orginal owners (who did all the hard work of start-up 20+ years ago!) about a year ago. I thought a picture tour might be fun and give people an idea of what we do here and why we seem to stay so busy. Hope you enjoy the "tour".

We will start out in the dairy barn. 

The bulk tank room at milking time. You can see the line is in the tank and we are ready to go.










We are milking 70+ cows at this point. Holstein and Holstein/Jersey crosses.

Some of the cows being milked. As you can see, the smaller Jerseys get along very well with the large Holstein gals.



















Five days a week the cow milk is pumped from the bulk tank, down to the cheese house where it will be made into raw milk cheddar and Colby cheeses. Twice a week goat milk is delivered from our two suppliers and on those days we make raw goat cheddar and Colby. 










The milk is pumped directly into the sanitized cheese vat where it is slowly warmed by hot water that is circulated under the floor of the vat. Milk is heated to 86 degrees.
Machine-driven paddles are used to stir the milk and insure even heating.










Upon reaching proper temperature, starter is added. After a certain period of start time (which varies depending on which starter we use), vegetable rennet, which is diluted in cold water, is then added. The paddles briefly stir in the rennet and then are removed. The milk begins to set up (gel.) When the milk is fully set up it is time to cut the curd.

Two harps are used to cut the curd, a horizontal and a vertical.


Horizontal:










Vertical:


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Here you can see the curds as they begin to separate from the whey.










Paddles are put back in because it is time to heat and stir. Being a raw milk cheese, it is only warmed to 100 degrees or less (100 in the case of cheddar, less if it is Colby or goat cheeses). During this process the cheese maker uses a rubber scraper to prevent the curd from sticking to the bottom of the vat.



















After reaching the desired temperature, the heat is turned off. The paddles will stir for a total of 90 minutes. The paddles are then removed and laid aside. The process of draining the whey then begins.
Up until this point, the process is the same for Colby and cheddar. Since we are making cheddar today, the following applies to the making of our cheddar cheeses.










The cheese maker uses the rubber scraper to divide the cheese in half on either side of the vat, allowing extra whey to drain and then he uses a knife to cut the curd into approximately 10&#8221;x 10&#8221; squares. These squares will be alternately flipped and flipped/stacked for two hours. At the end of this process, the whey that continues to drain from the curd should test to a certain acidity, the curd becomes shiny and its texture becomes firmer.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

The cheddaring process is complete and its time to introduce the cumbersome cutting machine we fondly dubbed, âIronmanâ. Ironman is placed over the vat and the cutting begins.




























All the curd is now chopped and Ironman is removed.










Machine-driven stirrers are now attached to stir the curd as we prepare to salt it and drain even more whey.










Salt is added and stirred in, stirrers are stopped and the curd is parted to either side of vat for draining.










Salting helps release the whey. The salting, stirring and draining process is done three times.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

The last time the curds are divided to drain, it is time to begin scooping the curd into the forms, which have been lined with cheesecloth-like material (called &#8220;bandages.&#8221




























The bandages are folded across the top of the curd.










The lids are placed on top, the form is turned on its side and a handyman jack is then used to begin pressing the forms.



















Once the jack has begun pressing the cheese forms, the cheese maker stops to remove the spacer pins that allow the molds to adjust down as the cheese is pressed.










The cheese maker then tightens the jack as far as it will go. As the cheese compresses, the jack will be tightened several more times.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

The cheese will remain in the press for 6 to 18 hours. Then it will be removed, bagged, vacuum-sealed, boxed, weighed, dated, and then refrigerated in the cheese storage room for at least 60 days.

Bagging the fresh 40 lb. blocks of cheddar.










Vacuum-sealing the fresh cheddar.










The cheese storage room, where the cheese is aged for at least 60 days, is kept at a temperature of 42-45 degrees.










At the end of the aging process the cheese, weighing approximately 40-43 lbs, can be taken to the cutting/packaging room. It will be cut into Â½ lb., 1 lb., 5 lb., 10 lb, , 20 lb or left in its 40 lb size, depending on our customers&#8217; needs.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Cutting/packaging room:










Block of aged cheddar:










1 lb., 5 lb. and 10 lb. pieces (or âcheese Stonehengeâ as I like to call it.)










The pieces are then bagged, labeled and weighed.










Goat cheese:










They are then vacuum-sealed:










The cheese is packed in insulated boxes and shipped out all over the US via UPS.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Some of the ladies who make this all possible:


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)




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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

And we can't forget Lee.










Cows after milking:




























And the end of the long day:


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

That was really neat - thank you for sharing! How would I go about finding some of your cheese?


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Thanks OJ! That is such a lot of work! I will have my mom look for some of your cheeses. Where do you sell them?


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## commonsense (Jun 1, 2008)

Wow! I love all the pictures! I'm interested in learning to make cheese, now that I have a cow, but on a much tinier scale. 

Thanks so much for sharing!


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## bigfoot2you (Oct 3, 2007)

AWESOME! Tks for the pictures


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

We sell to individuals, stores, resturants, co-ops, etc. It is considered a health food as it is raw milk cheese made from milk given by pastured cows.
We have a few local customers who pick it up here at the farm, other local buyers(stores) we drop their orders off when we are in town. Most we ship too.
If the cheese isn't carried at your local health food stores, the best bet is to order it. A lot of people get together and order as a group because you save on shipping and also price breaks come with larger orders. We only ship out Mondays and Tuesdays to make sure it is recieved by the weekend.


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## BlackWillowFarm (Mar 24, 2008)

I thoroughly enjoyed your tour Ozark Jewels! That was very educational for me. I just started making hard cheeses and so far my favorite is the colby. Your cheese looks great! Yum yum.

Thanks for sharing.


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## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

I know that you put in outstandingly long and hard days, my hats off to you.
P.J.


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

That was awesome. It is neat to see how the home cheese making process compares. Those pictures make me want to taste your cheese!


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## DianeWV (Feb 1, 2007)

I really enjoyed reading this thread. Thank you for taking the time to show us your family operation. I greatly commend you for the efforts and your hard work. Thanks again!


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## Up North (Nov 29, 2005)

*Most Excellent :goodjob:


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## cathleenc (Aug 16, 2007)

question - are the slabs and cheddared curds kept warm in the vat while acidifying? How do you calculate/regulate pressure on the bandaged cheeses with that jack? Do you need a dairy and a cheesemaker's license to do what you do? (we need both is wisconsin) Are your cows pastured year-round?

very fun to see- thank you so much for taking the time to put it together for us!


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## Oakshire_Farm (Dec 4, 2008)

That was very neat!!! I have just started making my own cheese!!! You look to have a great set up!!!! 

Thanks for sharing!!!


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

That's one squared away operation, labor of love I'd say. Great to see young entrepreneurs these days, sadly few and far between...Emily consider yourself special, keep up the hard work&#8230;....Topside


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## kmorisett (Mar 6, 2009)

I'm virtually speechless - awesome! I noticed you could see the curd pattern in the 40lb aged block, which I never would have noticed if I hadn't just seen the process. Very cool - thanks for sharing!

Kim


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## mr.breeze (May 23, 2009)

Wow that was great,thanks for taking the time to to put that together.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

cathleenc said:


> question - are the slabs and cheddared curds kept warm in the vat while acidifying? How do you calculate/regulate pressure on the bandaged cheeses with that jack? Do you need a dairy and a cheesemaker's license to do what you do? (we need both is wisconsin) Are your cows pastured year-round?



The slabs and curd are warm, but not too warm as they have to cool some for the process to work. Mainly they are slowly cooling through the entire process. But if they get too cool, the pressing will not work properly. Timing is important.
The pressure is not regulated, we just keep it as tight as we can. It is jacked down several times during clean-up of the cheesehouse, and then when I start evening milking, I jack it again and then again after milking is complete. 
We must have a dairy and a cheesemaking license. We are state and federally inspected.
We do intensive grazing all spring/summer/fall and into the winter until the cold kills back all the grass. The cows get a new strip of pasture every morning and every night. We grazed through December last year. When it gets too cold, we start the cows on hay. The cows get some grain when they come in to be milked.
If you look at the last picture I posted, you can see the graze line in the pasture the cows are in. They have grazed for several nights on the pasture to their right, the pasture on their left is fenced off with a strip of polywire and hasn't been touched yet. Every day that polywire is moved back for another strip to be available. 
Hope that helps, more than happy to answer any questions!


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

rose2005 said:


> So where do we place an order? Do you sell strong/sharp cheddar cheese?
> 
> We eat a lot of cheese and I order from the UK and Ireland now. It would be nice to find someone closer.
> 
> Rose


You can call the cheesehouse number at anytime to place an order. Mondays and Tuesdays we always answer the phones, most other weekdays we answer during business hours. There is always a machine to take your orders or leave your number on, in case we miss your call. We may miss your call due to being out building fence, etc.
The Morningland number is 417-469-3817.
We *sometimes* have a strong/sharp goat cheddar(think we are about out now). Otherwise, we rarely manage to keep the cheddars around long enough for them to become sharp(sharpness depends on how long it ages). Our biggest sellers are medium sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, and colby. We also make some hot pepper colby and garlic colby, but not too often due to the demand for the regular cheddars and colby.
I love the hot pepper colby, but my all-around favorites are probably the mild cheddar and the goat colby.


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## cjb (May 2, 2006)

How cool ! Thanks for the pictures. I wanna order some cheese! Probably not cost effective to ship just one big block, huh? I bet that we could get enough people to go in on it and make it worth it or do you just ship to markets?


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## cjb (May 2, 2006)

Oh oops - I should have read above. I'm going to call and order some. How fun. I've ordered some of Max's syrup and we love it so this should be awesome.


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## SpaceCadet12364 (Apr 27, 2003)

mmmmmmmmmmm.........cheese curds! Don't even worry about pressing them together, just scoop 'em into a bag to sell, them scoop 'em out of the bag when ya get them home and enjoy! Really fresh cheese curds have a neat lil squeak to them when you bite into one.

(originally from Wisconsin, doncha know?)


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

SpaceCadet12364 said:


> mmmmmmmmmmm.........cheese curds! Don't even worry about pressing them together, just scoop 'em into a bag to sell, them scoop 'em out of the bag when ya get them home and enjoy! Really fresh cheese curds have a neat lil squeak to them when you bite into one.
> 
> (originally from Wisconsin, doncha know?)


LOL!! One of my favorite treats myself. Better yet, toast them lightly and eat with brown mustard.....YUM!!
Unfortunately we are required by law to age our cheese 60 days since it is a raw milk cheese. So no selling cheese curds for us. You wouldn't believe the amount of requests we get though.


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## Still Learning (Dec 5, 2006)

Wow Emily, thank you for sharing those pictures. What a neat operation you have going on! Super cool! 

~Ashley


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

wow! That is so cool of you to share with us. Thanks!

A little thing~ but I'm just really impressed with how very full to the brim that vat is with milk.......and there is not spilled milk all over the outside and the floor! I can't even fill a cup of milk without spilling some! LOL!

That is very cool~ thanks for sharing!


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

That is really, really cool. I can't even keep my kitchen clean enough to make cheese, and you keep an entire room clean enough to do it? My hat's off to y'all.


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## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

ok now I am hungry.


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## Welshmom (Sep 7, 2008)

Wow, so awesome. Thank you for going to the trouble of posting all those pics! I kept thinking Yummy! Curds!! lol


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## Dutchie (Mar 14, 2003)

Very cool, OJ. Thanks for sharing!!


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Ernie said:


> I can't even keep my kitchen clean enough to make cheese, and you keep an entire room clean enough to do it?


Yeah, but your kitchen wasn't built to be completely bleachable.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

Nice photos! This thread should be a sticky.  Thanks for doing the work to put it all together--you look like you've got a nice operation.

I'm curious, and if you don't want to answer this question feel free to tell me to jump, , but do you have a ball park idea of what your milk sells for per cwt, marketed through your own cheese?

Jennifer


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## dirty (Oct 14, 2005)

excellent post, Ozark_jewels.


thank you


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

ozark_jewels said:


> Yeah, but your kitchen wasn't built to be completely bleachable.


Important tip for when I remodel.


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## brody (Feb 19, 2009)

I'm on dial up so some of the pictures aren't showing but WOW WOW WOW 

thats amazing - amazing enough my no computer at home hubby actually came over and watched with me 

thanks so much for sharing


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

That was really neat to see - thanks for sharing!


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## lamoncha lover (Mar 1, 2009)

wow it is neat to see the process..and nice setup.
I have one question...the cute red cows....are they jerseys? :>)


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## dezeeuwgoats (Jan 12, 2006)

Is it possible to age it longer once it is purchased - like in a refrigerator? To get it sharper? 

Also, how long would it keep, if you ordered a great big block?


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## Paula in Balto (Jan 9, 2005)

We used your posts as a virtual field trip for school this morning! I'm excited to include HT as part of our end-of-year write up for our home school umbrella group. Earlier this year, we'd gone on another virtual field trip to a cheesemaker (I think in Italy), but your presentation covered aspects that we were left questioning the in the other's tour. Your pics and info are great. We also appreciate the pictures of the cows (and bull) and pasture shots. Thank you for all your effort in putting this together.


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## Mid Tn Mama (May 11, 2002)

Will you ship cheese curds? Oh I miss those so much! I think that could be a good birthday/mother's day gift for me!


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## SteveO (Apr 14, 2009)

afternoon All,
YOur side show is more impressive than the one I viewed in Cheddar England.
What is the starter you use and how is cheddar different than Colby when you make it. The best cheddar I ever had was some 180 day aged boy did it have a bite.
Thanks again


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

Was it hard to get a license for a raw dairy? In this state you're only allowed to sell raw milk and that's only on farm. Not allowed to sell it other wise that I know of.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Sorry I haven't answered the questions. I have to pick up hay today but will try to get you all answered today or tomorrow. Glad you enjoyed the thread.


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## PamB (Jan 15, 2008)

I have enjoyed the pictures, I am interested in cheesemaking. I have made mozzarella and cottage cheese from raw milk. Thanks so much Pam


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## PamB (Jan 15, 2008)

One question I have: do you use all your cows milk in your cheesemaking?


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Jennifer L. said:


> I'm curious, and if you don't want to answer this question feel free to tell me to jump, , but do you have a ball park idea of what your milk sells for per cwt, marketed through your own cheese?
> 
> Jennifer


That is diffcult to say without doing a *lot* of figuring(never my favorite occupation). But to make it simple.......The dairy and the cheese operation are separate entities at this point, so the cheese operation buys the milk from the dairy. At this point the cheese operation is paying the dairy $18-$20 per hundred weight for liquid milk.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

lamoncha lover said:


> I have one question...the cute red cows....are they jerseys? :>)


Yes, the brown cows are Jerseys. They all have some Holstien blood in them though. The herd was pure Holstien for years and years. In the past 5-8 years, there has been Jersey blood added by using a Jersey bull over all the cows. We are now getting calves that look pure Jersey out of many of the high percentage Jersey girls.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

dezeeuwgoats said:


> Is it possible to age it longer once it is purchased - like in a refrigerator? To get it sharper?
> 
> Also, how long would it keep, if you ordered a great big block?


Yes, if you leave it vacuum-sealed, it will continue to age and sharpen in a refrigerator. 
If a little mold shows up(possible as it gets older), just trim it off when you open the cheese. Some people think that you must throw away moldy cheese. Completely not so and very wasteful.
You should always freeze cheese you will not use within a couple weeks time.
It isn't very feasable for an individual to order a 20-40 lb block simply because it will take too long to use. Now, if you have a vacuum sealer, or intend to freeze much of it, it would be fine.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Paula in Balto said:


> We used your posts as a virtual field trip for school this morning! I'm excited to include HT as part of our end-of-year write up for our home school umbrella group. Earlier this year, we'd gone on another virtual field trip to a cheesemaker (I think in Italy), but your presentation covered aspects that we were left questioning the in the other's tour. Your pics and info are great. We also appreciate the pictures of the cows (and bull) and pasture shots. Thank you for all your effort in putting this together.



Wonderful! Glad it was of use to you.:clap:


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Mid Tn Mama said:


> Will you ship cheese curds? Oh I miss those so much! I think that could be a good birthday/mother's day gift for me!


I really wish I could! Unfortunately the main stipulation on making and selling a raw milk cheese is that it *must* age for 60 days prior to being cut and sold. So that totally cuts out selling any cheese curds. We have a lot of requests and have to turn them down.
But there is no law that says you can't taste them as you walk through the cheeseroom......so if you ever come for a visit.......


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

SteveO said:


> What is the starter you use and how is cheddar different than Colby when you make it.


I will try to get pictures of Colby making next time I am cutting cheese on the day that Colby is made(we make cheddar more often). I think we make Colby this Sunday....
The starters we use are 3 different types of mesophilic culture. We get it from Kelley Supply Inc.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

6e said:


> Was it hard to get a license for a raw dairy? In this state you're only allowed to sell raw milk and that's only on farm. Not allowed to sell it other wise that I know of.


We are a licensed raw milk cheese plant, but we bought the place already licensed so I don't know how hard it was to get originally. We just maintain it now and that is hard enough. The only way they allow raw milk cheeses to be sold is if they are aged for at least 60 days before selling. Obviously they must be hard cheeses as you cannot age soft cheeses.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

PamB said:


> One question I have: do you use all your cows milk in your cheesemaking?


Yes, we do(except for the gallon or two that we dip from the bulk tank to use for drinking). We make cows milk cheese 5 days a week and goat milk cheese 2 days a week. When we are in peak production, we get enough milk that we have to make a night batch of cheese, so then we are making 6 batches of cow milk cheese a week.


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## KayJay (Oct 3, 2006)

I've been saying this over and over these past couple years... but this time you've really done it! I'm packing my stuff and moving in with you! lol Thanks for the tour.


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## myersfarm (Dec 24, 2004)

thanks for the tour Emily and everybody it DOES look better in person and the cheese WOW think I should have bought 10 pounds of each kind


made it home with my hiefer just fine


tjm


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Glad to hear you both got home safely and very glad to hear that you enjoyed the cheese.


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

Lee's got that look in his eye - like he's ready to rumble lol.
Your operation is awesome, thanks for taking the time to show us everything. I too was craving cheese curd while looking at the pics, probably will be for days now 

I forwarded the pictures to several family members who I know will be interested to see them. One homeschools and I know they'll love them.

Wonder if you could make money doing tours, or if that would just be a bother and contaminate everything.

Now I have the hugest craving for pepper colby! Love that stuff. If you can remember would you post when you make some so I can order, pretty please? I'd be good for 5 lbs at least.


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## Le Petit Norman (Apr 28, 2008)

I bet your pigs just love hanging near the cheese factory when you drain the whey ...

Do you have a website set up to sell your cheese ?


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Cliff said:


> Now I have the hugest craving for pepper colby! Love that stuff. If you can remember would you post when you make some so I can order, pretty please? I'd be good for 5 lbs at least.


PM'd you.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Thank you so much for posting this. I will have to order some cheese from you. We eat alot of Pizza.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Cliff said:


> Wonder if you could make money doing tours, or if that would just be a bother and contaminate everything.
> 
> Now I have the hugest craving for pepper colby! Love that stuff. If you can remember would you post when you make some so I can order, pretty please? I'd be good for 5 lbs at least.


I have been asked about tours but I don't think it would work very well. The time thing is a biggy(don't have ANY), but also, this place needs a lot of work before I want to invite folks in to tour. The cheese operation is of course kept up to specs, but the outbuildings, fencing, etc are works in progress. So maybe a while in the future......:cowboy:

We are cutting hot pepper colby if you are interested. Shipping out again on Monday and Tuesday.....


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Le Petit Norman said:


> I bet your pigs just love hanging near the cheese factory when you drain the whey ...
> 
> Do you have a website set up to sell your cheese ?



Well, they would if we had pigs.LOL!! Right now we send the whey to a neighbor who feeds it to his beef cattle. Makes some very slick cows, I'll tell you. In the future we hope to make use of it ourselves.

No website to sell cheese. We have had more orders than cheese to fill it as a general rule, so a website would have been publicity that we did not need. Thinking about setting one up myself possibly, since all backorders are caught up now and we can actually take on new buyers. But the orders would still be called in, not done online.


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