Central Illinois Local Foods Spotlight: Ropp Jersey Cheese

from Live.Work.Grow. Volume 9 Issue 1

by Central Illinois Ag

Precision Wisdom: How do Precision Planting Solutions Drive Efficiency?

Ken Ropp

Central Illinois Ropp

Local Foods Spotlight Jersey Cheese

The Ropp family of Bloomington, Illinois has been milking Jersey cows on their farm since the mid 1800s. Today, sixth generation farmer, Ken Ropp, son of Ray and Carol Ropp, manages the grain and dairy farm with the help of 11 employees. Although their journey through these difficult times in the dairy industry has not been easy, their perseverance has led to the sucessful business and farm they have today.

After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1993, Ken went to work in sales, but always wanted to eventually return to the dairy. In 2000, he was able to join a partnership with his parents, Ray and Carol, just as milk prices were at a record high. However, just six months later, prices reached a devastating low, leaving the Ropp family with some crucial decisions to make to determine the future of their operation.

In most sectors of agriculture, including the dairy industry, it can be difficult for small family farms to compete with larger, commercial operations. “Inputs are constantly going up and on the dairy side of things, we have been at the same low milk prices for so long,” says Ken. “Illinois only has about 400 dairy farms left, and unfortunately that number is going to keep going down.”

Ray and Ken felt that the only way for their operation to survive in today’s market was to develop a niche within the farm to set them apart. Not long after, Ken visited the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin and saw a cheese trailer demonstration, which used milk from the cows on the fairgrounds to make cheese. He had never made cheese before, but Ken began to contemplate if it was a possibility for their farm.

After much thought and with no other local cheese operations nearby to learn from or compare to, they took the risk anyway. “We had to adapt as a business and as a family to the wants and needs of customers,” says Ken. They became the first local cheese operation in the area by starting Ropp Jersey Cheese and had made their first blocks of cheddar by 2006. www.centralilag.com · Volume 9 Issue 1 37

In the years since, their operation has flourished. Today, their products are sold in 240 additional locations beyond their store on the farm, including grocery stores, markets, restaurants, Illinois wineries, and even at University of Illinois basketball and football games.

With the help of his part-time and full-time employees, Ken currently milks 68 registered Jersey cows each day. All of the milk their cows produce, besides a small portion that is fed to young calves, is put towards cheese production, which allows them to produce around 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of cheese per week.

Fortunately for the Ropps, Jerseys have an advantage over other breeds of dairy cattle when it comes to cheese production. Jerseys are known for having a higher percentage of butterfat in their milk than any other breed. Generally, ten pounds of milk equals one pound of cheese, but with Jersey milk, only eight pounds are needed to make one pound of cheese.

A typical day at Ropp Jersey Cheese begins at 4:30 with morning milking. The milk goes directly into a bulk tank where it gets cooled, before going through the high-temperature short-time (HTST) pasteurization system. From there, it gets put into the make vat, which holds 525 gallons of milk, where the solids and liquids begin to separate into curds and whey with continuous mixing, or harping. When the curds begin to harden, they will then add salt and flavoring to get the desired product and by 1:00 p.m., they have cheddar cheese.

They sell blocks of common cheeses, as well as flavored cheeses in store such as smoked gouda, green onion cheddar, habanero cheddar, and their original soft spread. However, a large portion of their sales are white cheddar cheese curds sold to local restaurants, which was going well until COVID hit and posed a huge threat to their business once again. “In the blink of an eye, we lost 50% of our business,” says Ken. “I remember milking cows with Dad that morning wondering again if the farm could survive this.”

Their sales in grocery stores picked up but did not make up for what they lost overnight in sales to wineries and restaurants. Just as Ken was wondering how they would recover from this hit, he got a phone call from the president of Central Illinois Produce who was working with the USDA on supplying local food pantries. Two days later, the program became official and they wanted to buy 5,000 half-pound blocks of cheese per week. Soon after, the Chicago food pantries got on board and the order went up to 95,000 blocks per week. Ken and a few Wisconsin dairy farmers worked together to meet this demand from May of 2020 to May of 2021.

Although he says we have not seen the full effects of COVID yet, they are very fortunate for this unexpected outcome. “To say that it was a blessing is an understatement,” says Ken. “All of a sudden we had a new customer base that we would have never dreamed of.”

The Ropp family believes that their new and returning customers are the reason their operation has become what it is today, and that their transparency is what their customers appreciate. “I think that more than ever, consumers want to know who their producers are and be able to see the origin of their products,” says Ken. “We are happy to offer that to our customers.”

Visitors are always welcome onto the farm to see firsthand where their products come from and are able to speak directly to the farmers who make it happen. “It means a lot to our customers that they can talk directly to Ray and I and can come out any day to see cheese being made,” says Ken. “They know we are here and hopefully we are here for a long time to come.”

Ken is grateful to help bridge that gap between producers and consumers while being able to provide central Illinois with a trusted, local product. “Our customers know they can call any time, and that we stand behind our product,” says Ken. “What we hope to continue as a family is to still put a face with our product and have constant contact with the customer.”

www.roppcheese.com

11’ - 40’3’’ working widthEXCELERATOR® XT 8010 Vertical Tillage

11’ - 40’3’’ working width

XTEND YOUR VERTICAL TILLAGE XTEND YOUR VERTICAL TILLAGE

Excalibur® VT blades capture and slice tough residue 1° to 8° adjustable gang angle offers true vertical to XTended Tillage

Mid-mounted HD tines redistribute residue, level seedbed & reduce clods

Excalibur® VT blades capture and slice tough residue 1° to 8° adjustable gang angle offers true vertical to XTended Tillage

Mid-mounted HD tines redistribute residue, level seedbed & reduce clods

Star Wheel™ treaders aggressively mix soil and residue, anchoring residue into the soil surface Star Wheel™ treaders aggressively mix soil and residue, anchoring residue into the soil surface

INVEST IN QUALITY ®

24/7® soil conditioning reel delivers clod sizing and firming 24/7® soil conditioning reel delivers clod sizing and firming

growing for generations

Consider a gift of grain.

A gift of grain is a unique way to make a charitable gift to Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital. You can make a grain gift by simply designating ALMH— Foundation as the recipient of bushels of grain at any local elevator.

Your gift will allow you to avoid the sale of the commodity as income, thus rendering tax savings.

Please consider a gift of grain. Your generosity will help ensure quality local healthcare for generations.