heber valley artisan cheese factory tours

They didn’t want stucco houses next door, they wanted their land. “Build houses and that’s your last crop,” so goes the farmer logic. The Kohlers watched many of their fellow farmers sell out to developers, but they didn’t want to do that. If the farm world had an endangered species list, dairies would be on the top line. In his lifetime, Grant - and he’s only 53 - has watched the number of dairy farms in the Heber Valley drop from 130 to three, including his. Slowly but surely, as the economy rose and milk prices didn’t, the smaller dairies gave way to the big dairies that could produce more efficiently and corner the market. Albert gave way to LeRoy, Grant’s dad, and LeRoy gave way to Grant, and now Russ stands in the succession line, followed by his 2-year-old son Zach.īut over the years, operating a dairy farm became more and more like running a grocery store. Ever since, the Kohlers have raised hay, cows and children there, operating a full-fledged family dairy farm. This story goes back to 1929, when Albert Kohler, Grant’s grandfather and Russ’s great-grandfather, bought several hundred acres of beautiful, flat, pristine farmland in the northern end of the Heber Valley just west of the Provo River. Grant and Russ have been wearing wide smiles ever since - but, then, Grant and Russ are always wearing wide smiles, especially now that it appears their grand cheese experiment will allow them to keep on farming. This year a record 257 entrants submitted 1,794 products for judging. The competition, held yearly since 1983, attracts specialty and artisan cheesemakers from all corners of the country. Two of their cheeses, a cheddar called “Cascade Raw” and a Hispanic-style called “Queso Fresco Verde,” won second-place awards in the American Cheese Society’s national competition, and - drum roll please - their Monterey Jack they call “Wasatch Back Jack” was named best in the land.

This past August, in Madison, Wis., the very heart of dairy land, the Kohlers’ cheeses made like Jennifer Lawrence and stole the awards show. MIDWAY, Wasatch County - Two and a half years ago, when Grant Kohler and his son Russel decided to make cheese, the idea was to save their dairy farm, not become legends in their own time.

Heber valley artisan cheese factory tours