Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1006634
GOURMET NEWS AUGUST 2018 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER NEWS 1 3 Rogue Creamery Continued from PAGE 1 the World in two categories, best overall and best towards the environment. Our new partner is very proud of our commit- ment," said Gremmels, who will remain the company's President. "They are equally committed to sustainability and to having a positive impact on the environment and the communities in which they work. Rogue Creamery is a template for them to further understand what it is to be a public benefit company." Under the new partnership, nothing much will change about Rogue Creamery, except that the company will now have new resources to increase production to make its cheese available to a wider market, and the dairy will be able to add new equip- ment to expand its herd to the carrying ca- pacity of the land it occupies, according to Gremmels. "It has allowed us to build a strategy for the future and expand our reach, which means to increase our inven- tory. We've had to allocate that over the past few years," he said. Increasing the in- ventory will require additions to Rogue Creamery's aging caves as well as other cap- ital projects that had been put on hold over the past few years. The creamery will continue to be active in its community – Rogue Creamery hosts the Oregon Cheese Guild's annual Oregon Cheese Festival as well as participating in other cultural community activities and local charities. "[Savencia] stepped up and said they support our being a social benefit company, remaining autonomous and sup- porting our vision," Gremmels said. "I was looking for a business partner who would understand and sup- port what it is to be a social ben- efit company.... It's a weight off my shoulders knowing that I have a partner that is solidly committed to our vision and is there to support us in furthering our commitment to quality. What's more, a partner who will support our initiatives to posi- tively benefit our environment and community." Savencia's support extends to the Rogue Creamery dairy, located a few miles away at Grants Pass, Oregon, and to the hundred or so Normande, Brown Swiss, Montbéliarde, Holstein, Jersey and Milking Shorthorn cows who make the milk for the company's organic cheeses. Savencia owns dairies in France where the company prac- tices biodynamic agriculture and is already providing that expertise to benefit the Rogue Creamery herd of about 100 milking cows. That expertise has already been em- ployed to increase the herd's comfort through the addition of more watering tanks. "We thought we had enough water- ing stations, but their expert has given us some insights about the cows' paths in the pasture and recommended more," Grem- mels said. "It has already improved yields and, I think, our cows' comfort too." The partnership will also provide the funding that will allow the dairy to perhaps add a third robotic milker to the two already at work there. Each robot is capable of serving up to 60 cows, so the addition of a third will allow the herd to grow. "Our goal is to increase from about 100 to 180 cows, which will be ideal for the dairy and how it was designed," Gremmels said. With the robotic milkers, affectionately named Charlie and Matilda, cows report to the milker whenever they feel like they'd like to be milked instead of waiting on the farmer's schedule. When the cow enters the milking machine's stall, sensors guide milk- ing cups onto the cow's udder. The cups at- tach, and the milk flows through tubing into a collection tank. The milk's tempera- ture is recorded, and a sample is analyzed to ensure that it's healthy. If the analysis in- dicates that there's a problem, the milker sends a message to Herd Manager Jesse Trimnal, who is able to respond right away to care for the animal. "If it sees any devia- tion, it will divert the milk, and we can use that for the calves, but it doesn't go into the milk tank," Trimnal said. When there's no problem, the milk is stored in the collection tank and picked up every other day for transportation to the creamery. "Everything that comes out of the cow goes right into the vat," Trimnal said. "It's all up to the cow – we're not forcing them to do anything." The Rogue Creamery cows produce less milk in an average day than do the cows in the Holstein herds of large commercial dairies, but they're expected to live longer and produce milk longer than average too. "We're looking at quality rather than quantity," Trimnal said. "The quality of life, the quality of the milk is just so much better." The dairy holds tours on Saturdays that are open to the public and guided by Trim- nal, and it's open for additional hours to members of the public who want to take a walking tour guided by a map and signs to explain how it all works. As many as 40 people at a time have showed up for the Saturday tours, just as the Rogue Creamery Cheese Shop, with its invitation at the door for visitors to ask whatever questions they'd like about the cheese inside, has be- come a popular local tourist destination. "A lot of people don't know the inner work- ings of their milk and cheese," Gremmels said. "At both the Rogue Creamery cheese shop and our dairy, we're aiming to change that. We want to offer a fun, interactive ex- perience – where you can not only buy cheese and have lunch with your family, but also learn a little more about how these cheeses got to your plate and what makes them unique." GN