Success – Ballard Family Dairy and Cheese
Food Safety
Ballard Family Dairy & Cheese
Gooding, ID
Ballards Follow Dairy Dreams to Gooding, Idaho
Stacie and Steve Ballard moved to Gooding, Idaho, in 1993 to pursue Steve’s dream of operating a dairy farm. The Ballards purchased 25 Jersey dairy cows and began selling milk to a large commercial cheese producer.
Project
Despite expanding production to create economies of scale in the highly competitive milk business, the numbers just weren’t working. The Ballards decided to diversify their product line and reduce their dependance on milk markets by developing a line of hand-crafted cheese products. The Ballards consulted food specialists from TechHelp, a member of the MEP National Network™, and the University of Idaho to help with product development and food safety issues. TechHelp helped the Ballards secure funding from the United Dairymen of Idaho, which helped pay for product line development and food safety basics.
Results
- The Ballards developed several varieties cheese and new additions, including Danish Pearl and Greek Style Haloumi.
- Ballard Pepper Cheddar Cheese took first place at the American Cheese Society 2006 Annual Conference. Ballard Idaho Garlic Herb was the second placed Flavored Cheese.
- New cheese products led to increased sales of $38K and retained sales of $18k.
- Process improvements generated $10K in cost savings.
- The Ballards invested $14K in plant and equipment in order to bring new products to market and ramp up cheese production to about 20,000 pounds per month.
“As a food producer in rural Idaho, we feel very fortunate that we can tap into the knowledge and expertise available through TechHelp and its network of service providers. Everyone has been unbelievably helpful and really wants to see small farmers like us succeed.”
– Stacie Ballard, The Big Cheese, Ballard Family Dairy & Cheese
