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Company: Ballard Family Dairy & Cheese
Founder: Steve, Stacie, and Travis Ballard
In Business Since: 2004
Products: Farmstead cheeses
Contact Info: 5208-934-4972, ballardcheese@msn.com Website: www.ballardcheese.com
Photo: Steve Ballard cooks the Idaho Gold Greek Grillin’ Cheese.
Chefs Collaborative: How did you get involved in raising cows?
Stacie Ballard: My husband Steve always wanted a dairy. Neither of us had prior farming experience, but Steve’s uncle ran a dairy farm. Before we started farming, I was working at a school part-time and Steve was working as a diesel mechanic. We decided to move from San Diego to Idaho in order to start a dairy and to get the kids out of the city. Currently we have 60 Jersey cows that produce the milk for our cheese. It’s very hard to make money as a dairy farmer selling milk. You can’t compete with the large dairies. We were encouraged from the beginning to look into value added products and decided that cheese made the most sense as it has a longer shelf life. We went to a cheese making conference in California and got started after that.
We have a variety of cheeses that we’re selling direct to retailers, chefs, and consumers. We also sell our cheese curd to other cheese makers.
CC: How would you describe your cheeses? What makes them unique?
SB: Our Jersey cows produce very high quality milk, which is the base of our cheese. We feel blessed to have such healthy animals. My husband is immersed in good animal husbandry and is ensures that our cows are happy and healthy. He’s instilled this ethic into my children. As a family we understand that the quality of the product is directly linked to the health and life of the animal.
CC: You mentioned that you’re selling direct to chefs. Is it working well? How are they using your products?
SB: We work with a number of chefs from Boise and a few chefs in Coeur d’Alene and even California. We’ve really enjoyed working with the chefs and have found that if you’re a reliable producer and can give them what they want, they are willing to pay a little bit extra for the product. Our halloumi-style “grillin’ cheese’ has really taken off in the chef community. We also produce a variety of cheddars. Chef Jon Mortimer of Mortimer’s in Boise serves our cheddar with farm peach chutney, and pineapple sage oil. Chef Dustan Bristol of of Brick 29 Bistro uses our Danish Pearl cheddar to top his French onion soup.
CC: What do you see as the challenges in producing and marketing your cheese?
SB: Location! We’re really far out in the country and it’s really touch. We drive 100 miles each way twice a week to get to the Boise farmers market. Also, it’s difficult to decide what cheese you are going to market. When we began this business, there really was a learning curve. It takes patience, but you can make it work.
CC: How do you make that work with the current gas prices averaging over $4.00 a gallon?
SB: We’ve been able to make it work. We recently bought a Mini Cooper and have begun parking our truck at the farmers market for the day. We use the Mini Cooper for making deliveries to restaurants and retail outlets. You should see our little Mini Cooper filled to the brim with cheese! It’s quite the sight. So far we haven’t had to raise the price of cheese for our restaurant customers. The packaging for our retail products is what is most expensive and unfortunately, we’ve had to raise the prices as a result.
CC: This sounds like a lot of driving. Have you thought about working with a distributor?
SB: We’re really not interested in working with a distributor. We like being in control of our own product. Our current operation allows us to know exactly when the cheese is made, shipped, and when it arrives. We’re able to taste each batch of cheese before it’s shipped. It’s all hands on deck, but we like it that way.
CC: When is your product available for purchase? Is it seasonal?
SB: Our products are available year round. When the farmers market season is over, we still make deliveries to Boise a couple times a week. We do ship our cheese to out-of-state customers.
CC: You also offer cheese making classes at your farm?
SB: We offer cheese making classes at our farm throughout the year. They are geared towards folks who are thinking about making cheese for a living. I think it’s important for people to understand the complete operation, from the milking to the cheese preparation and the lifestyle. Most programs don’t offer that. It’s so interesting how much the local food movement has flourished. People are actually interested again in artisan products and in knowing where their food comes from. We have more and more customers who are visiting us on the farm. We’re actually in the very preliminary stages of creating a business plan for a building a store and a visitor center on the farm.
