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www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
THE LAND — JUNE 25/JULY 2, 2021
This week’s Back Roads is the work of The Land Managing Editor Paul Malchow.
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Crazy about curds
otorists whizzing along on U.S. Hwy. 212 east of Norwood/ Young America may not notice the hamlet of Bongards, Minn. But cheese lovers from throughout the United States have learned to make the stop. “People come from everywhere!” exclaimed Bongards’ retail store manager Cathy Kerber. “New York, Texas. California … we have a signin book and you’ll see people come from all over.” Indeed, even on a weekday morning, there were a number of shoppers examining the Bongards shop. “We stay pretty busy year-round,” said Kerber. “In January and February it’s a little quieter.” Even the Covid-19 pandemic did little to slow down the store. “We did curbside pick-up for a month or two and still did good business,” Kerber admitted. The Bongards retail store packs a little space with a lot of variety. In addition to cheeses and butter, meat products from the French Lake Butcher Shop and Knaus Sausage Haus are popular items. Freezers are filled with ice cream and pizzas. There is a nice selection of gift items as well — cows, of course, being very popular. “Everyone wants to have their picture taken with the cow,” laughed Kerber. The cow she’s talking about is hard to miss. It stands a good 12 feet tall outside the retail shop. Bongards employees named the cow “Bonnie” as they felt it went well with Bongards. She became the company mascot and was even featured in the 1999 movie “Drop Dead Gorgeous.” The Bongards retail store is dwarfed and surrounded by the cheese plant. In early October of 1908, the Bongards’ town creamery burned to the ground in a fire. In response, local farmers gathered to discuss forming a new farmer-owned co-op creamery. Ninety farmers signed up to become the company’s first shareholders. Construction of the new creamery was completed in February, 1909. When creamery operations began, the first shipment of Bongards’ butter and cream was sent to a customer in New York. In 1941, Bongards expanded into cheese making. By 1944 Bongards cele-
brated its first $1 million year, producing over three million pounds of cheese. A new plant was built to produce whey products. Plant Manager Jack Budahn created all of the machinery himself. By 1960 the plant was processing up to one million pounds of milk a day. In 1968 the co-op added its first automated continuous cheese making system to the plant. It could convert 1.5 million pounds of milk into 150,000 pounds of cheese and 85,000 pounds of dry whey each day. Unfortunately, on Dec. 17, 1968, an explosion destroyed the cheese-wrapping building, including the warehouse and retail store. The lab and remaining plant buildings were severely damaged. A new warehouse, laboratory, and retail store began construction in the spring. In 1982 Bongards earned the title of “The Largest Cheese Plant in the World Under One Roof”, processing two million pounds of milk per day. The co-op was comprised of 1,300 Minnesota farmers and had just under 250 employees. Kerber explained that due to safety considerations, the plant does not conduct tours to the general public. However, visitors can watch a live feed of plant operations inside the retail shop. Today, Bongards continues to update equipment and product offerings. In 2003 the company bought a cheese and whey manufacturing facility in Perham, Minn. In 2010 Bongards purchased a manufacturing facility in Humboldt, Tenn. Bongards products of slice, loaf and shredded cheeses, butter and whey are found in groceries and convenience stores. Bongards began processing commodity cheese for the National School Lunch Program and has been a large supplier to the USDA ever since the early days of the company. But cheese curds are king at the Bongards retail store with a wide variety of flavors occupying an entire cooler. Fresh batches are packaged daily. Bongards will be hosting an open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 21. Kerber promises plenty of curds, polka music, prizes, various animals and other surprises. Bongards has a Facebook page and other information can be found on their website, www.bongards.com. v
Bongards, Minn.
