From cow to cheese; Rocking W Cheese to open soon

OLATHE  — Webb Dairy owners are gearing up to open the doors of their new business and begin an exciting adventure into cheese production.

Rocking W Cheese’s home base sits in a large red building on the corner of 57.00 Road and Colo. Hwy. 348, about two miles west of Olathe. From the intersection, one can see the stainless steel pipes running from Webb Dairy and Farm’s milking barn into the newly constructed factory.

Starting fairly small, the generations-deep dairy farmers plan to open with different cheeses and milk. They eventually hope to produce a variety cheeses, including specialty curds and many other milk byproducts, such as whipping cream and butter. The Webb family said that their products will be fresh and natural.

The family has been in the Montrose area since the late 1800s, and opened Webb Dairy and Farm in 1965. At the time, there were more than 150 in the area, now there are only seven dairies on the Western Slope, according to the family.

When the doors open in about two weeks, their locally-made products will be available in the factory’s retail store and through its drive-up window.

Jim Webb, his brother-in-law John Gibson and parents, Bob and Charlotte Webb, own the businesses.

The group hired Wisconsin resident Matt Henze as “cheese master.” Henze has helped ready the factory since he moved to the area in November, Jim said. He was hired because of experience and his training under master cheese makers.

Jim said Henze can make 18 different cheeses and will manage the plant’s operations.

“It’s like a chef,” he said. “He brings with him the recipes.”

When the business is in full operation, some of the milk from the dairy cows will flow into the factory to be processed. The dairy will maintain their co-op contract with Dairy Farmers of America, which Charlotte said has been very supportive.

Currently, the dairy farm is milking 450 cows, three times a day. The average cow produces about 75 pounds of milk a day. Jim said some of the higher-yield cows produce 120 pounds a day.

Webb’s dairy cows do not receive any production enhancements or growth hormones. The cows also have a “dry time” of 60 days in which they are not milked.

Outside the milking barn, milk moves through cooling pipes and is stored at 38 degrees in a 6,000-gallon tank. Here, the milk is either picked up by the co-op or will be sent to the plant.

Inside the plant, the milk goes through several different processes. When the factory is in full operation, the public will not enter into the different working areas because of strict sanitation policies.

Employees will enter the factory through key code doors accessing the locker room.

There, they will shower and leave work clothes behind for a clean factory suit. Hairnets and foot booties are mandatory.

Through different equipment, the cow’s milk can be made into different products. There is a tank to store whole milk, one for skim milk, and another to mix the two for combinations such as 2 percent milk. The raw tank can hold up to 2,500 gallons, while the whole and skim milk tanks hold between 750 and 800 gallons.

What looks like a tangle of metal pipes is actually a pasteurizer. Everything running through the factory must be pasteurized to remove bacteria, even the chocolate that’s added to ice cream products.

“All it’s doing is making it pure,” Bob said. “The milk comes out (of the cow) pure, it’s through the handling (that it can become contaminated.)”

A graph measures the fluid’s temperature. It must be documented that the fluid reached 161 degrees for 15 seconds and then cooled back to 38 degrees.

The health department will inspect the graph, along with the whole factory on a monthly basis, Jim said.

The plant is equipped with several coolers for fresh milk and cheese, along with space to age cheese. There is also a bottling machine and labeling room.

A large vat and several other pieces of equipment sit in another room, just off the front retail area. Here, cheese will be made and formed. Factory visitors can view all activity through a large picture window.

The factory will be open to the public. The front of the factory is blocked off and designated as a retail shop where people can buy Rocking W Cheese products.

Jim said the factory will have a grand opening about a month after the plant opens, during which people can taste the products.

The family’s plan is to have their products available not only at the factory, but at other local retailers. Because there’s no product in hand yet, there have only been letters of interest from local merchants, Jim said. The business will also be represented at events and farmers’ markets.

With farmers and ranchers selling and moving on every day, the Webb family is proud they are striving to provide their children with agricultural opportunities. In turn, they hope to sustain a business that has been in the family for decades and find a niche in the cheese world for their future generations.

Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com