The Indiana Cheese Trail is more than just a culinary masterpiece, it’s an experience and a destination. Guests from around the world come to the Hoosier state to taste the best cheeses Indiana has to offer while also visiting amazing Indiana creameries and charming stops along the way. Jump on the Indiana Cheese Trail and receive a one-of-a-kind experience that is sure to create memories for years to come.
Learn more at www.indianacheesetrail.com.
Pepper-jack and Monterey-jack cheese produced under the Heritage Ridge Creamery brand at Michigan Milk Producers Association’s Middlebury, Indiana cheese plant recently snagged awards in a national cheese contest. Pepper-jack earned first place in the hot or spicy flavor category, while the Monterey-jack placed second in the natural cheese category. The award was presented virtually on Oct. 27 by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) during the federation’s annual meeting. The annual contest includes cheese made by dairy cooperatives belonging to NMPF. The contest judged 190 entries from dairy cooperatives all over the U.S.
Pepper-jack won first place in the hot or spicy category.
The health and well-being of our customers and employees is our top priority. Out of an abundance of caution related to the spread of COVID-19, the Heritage Ridge Creamery retail store has been closed since March 16. The store was reopened on May 14, with several precautions in place to protect both our employees and our customers.
We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. For more information about how our parent company, the Michigan Milk Producers Association, is responding to protect the safety and well-being of our employees, farmers and communities, visit www.mimilk.com/covid19.
Updated June 30.
Heritage Ridge Creamery and its parent company, the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA), is responding to increased need at food banks in the Great Lakes region with dairy product donations.
In Indiana, MMPA is donating cheese from Heritage Ridge Creamery to Second Helpings, an organization focused on providing meals to individuals and families in need, with particular emphasis now amidst the COVID-19 issue. MMPA is also donating one-pound packages of cheese to the Food Bank of Northern Indiana, an organization that provides food assistance in a six-county area in Northern Indiana.
In Michigan, MMPA, along with Kroger’s Michigan Dairy plant, will donate over 2,020 pounds of milk per day to the Food Bank Council of Michigan throughout 2020. In total over 85,000 gallons of milk will be donated to reach all 83 counties of Michigan. The first load of milk was delivered at the end of March. MMPA has donated over 333,000 gallons of milk since 2015 and last year donated around 18,000 pounds of cheese from Heritage Ridge Creamery.
The health and well-being of our customers and employees is our top priority. Out of an abundance of caution related to the spread of COVID-19, the Heritage Ridge Creamery retail store was closed on March 16 until further notice. Customers are welcome to shop for their favorite cheese and butter products online. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. For more information about how MMPA is responding, visit mimilk.com/covid19.
Heritage Ridge Creamery’s colby-jack cheese was today awarded third place from the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest.
“Excellence starts with our member-owners’ high-quality milk and the dedication of our plant teams to produce award-winning products,” MMPA President and CEO Joe Diglio said. “We are proud of these accomplishments that continue to be recognized at World Dairy Expo.”
In addition, unsalted butter made by Heritage Ridge Creamery’s parent company, the Michigan Milk Producers Association, won first, second and third place awards.
The World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest is the only North American judging contest which encompasses all dairy products. The contest received over one thousand entries in 75 product classes including cheese, butter, fluid milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, cultured milk and dried whey from throughout the United States.
A contest auction of all first-place entries will take place during the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin today. As a result of this contest, the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association (WDPA) annually funds two scholarships for students preparing for careers in the dairy industry. WDPA also funds a culinary arts scholarship and donates to the National Collegiate Judging Contest which trains college students the art of evaluating dairy products.
Cheese from Heritage Ridge Creamery will be available at the upcoming fairs in Indiana:
Elkhart County Fair – July 19-27
The Elkhart County 4-H Fair is one of the largest 4-H county fairs in the nation. During the 2018 Fair, more than 196,000 people attended the nine-day event. The Fair Board’s goal is not only to be a big event but to be one of the best. The Fair takes pride in preserving quality family entertainment, free grandstand shows, positive competitions & terrific ‘Fair Food.’
Indiana State Fair – August 2-18
The Indiana State Fair is the state’s largest multi-day event celebrating Hoosiers’ spirit and agricultural heritage. These 17 days celebrate Indiana agriculture and promote it to hundreds of thousands of people across Indiana, and beyond. Nationally recognized for offering great entertainment, showcasing youth, interactive agriculture education programs, premier facilities and a variety of unique, fun foods, the Indiana State Fair has been an annual attraction for generations of Hoosiers since 1852. To pay tribute to the heroism of everyday Hoosiers, this year’s Indiana State Fair theme is HEROES IN THE HEARTLAND presented by Indiana Donor Network.
Burdock Hills | Hastings, Michigan
Home to 690 cows, Burdock Hills Dairy, LLC, was established in 1973 by Dan and Mary Javor. When Dan and Mary bought the farm, they started milking only 30 cows. Through the years, they have seen many ups and downs, but still cherish the farmer lifestyle. They raised three children, one who joined as a partner in the dairy farm after college. Son, Krist who now manages the field work aspect of the dairy farm and helping out with the cows when needed.
“Some days don’t go as planned on a dairy farm, but I can’t think of any other job that would suit me better. I think many jobs can feel this way to people, except with being a dairy farmer, I get to be my own boss and make the decisions on how to handle the situation and not as a supervisor,” said Dan.
Along with milking cows, Dan, Mary and Krist farm 1,200 acres of corn, alfalfa and wheat to feed and bed their cows. The Javor family also hauls their own milk to milk processing plants like Heritage Ridge Creamery which is about 85 miles from the farm. Although delivering milk to a processing plant is unusual for a farm this size, Burdock Hills Dairy L.L.C. prides itself on being involved with the extra step to ensure the milk is the highest quality possible to make dairy products like cheese. Many farms choose to not deliver their own milk to a processing facility due to extra labor and equipment needed.
“A perk of delivering our milk to Heritage Ridge Creamery is that we can bring cheese home after leaving the plant,” Dan said. “My favorite cheese is sharp cheddar, but we make sure we always have plenty of cheese around to snack on for the family and our employees.”
–Krista Schrock
Cheddar cheese produced under the Heritage Ridge Creamery brand at Michigan Milk Producers Association’s Middlebury, Indiana cheese plant recently snagged a 2nd place award in the ‘mild cheddar’ category in a national cheese contest. The award was presented by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) last week at the federation’s annual meeting in Arizona. The annual contest includes cheese made by dairy cooperatives belonging to NMPF. A record 230 entries from 15 cooperatives were submitted in the 2018 contest. Last year, Heritage Ridge Creamery’s pepper-jack was named the Grand Champion Cheese.
The Heritage Ridge Creamery brand markets cheese produced at the Middlebury, Indiana plant and sold in the on-site retail store. The cheese plant produces Colby cheese, a softer, milder flavored cheddar cheese, in addition to cheddar, pepper-jack, Amish Creamery cheese and other flavors.
LeAnn Acres | Middlebury, Indiana
Farming and dairy cows has been the center of Richard and Trula Thomas’ world since day one. Richard bought the farm before he left the service and they welcomed their first calf to the farm a few short days after their honeymoon. Thirty-nine years, three kids and two grandchildren later, they still both look forward to new calves being born.
“My favorite memory so far on the farm was when the kids were showing at the county fair. They always wore red shirts and it was so much fun to see them dressed similar and working together in and out of the show ring,” shared Trula Thomas.
LeAnn Acres—created by using Richard and Trula’s middle names—is home to 120 milking cows who are milked two times a day just eight miles away from Heritage Ridge Creamery. They farm about 200 acres of corn and hay to feed their animals. Their son Sheldon, who is considered the herdsman, spends most of his time with the cattle milking, taking care of the calves while Richard focuses on the crop side and the herd health.
“I love great cows. I love showing at cattle shows and working with the animals. It makes me proud to see them succeed in the show arena after working with them from day one,” said Sheldon. “My happiest moment in my life I think was when our cow “Sweet” was awarded Grand Champion at the 2017 Indiana State Fair.”
They all agreed that some of the best parts of dairy farming is the variety of tasks needing to get done on a day to day basis seldomly is boring and seeing the fruits of their labor is truly rewarding whether it is in the show ring, harvesting corn or watching a calf grow up to be a milk cow.
“It’s a lot of work with many challenges but reaping the rewards of your hard work and working with family makes it worthwhile,” said Richard.
–Krista Schrock
Our friends at the American Dairy Association of Indiana (ADAI) toasted up a fall-inspired “Autumn Fiesta” grilled cheese sandwich today at Heritage Ridge Creamery. Combining two of our most popular cheeses—Pepper-Jack and Thunder-Jack–this sandwich is an interesting twist on the traditional grilled cheese by using homemade cornbread, MMPA roll butter and hatch-chili-infused maple syrup.
Each month this year, the American Dairy Association Indiana features a new, seasonal grilled cheese recipe on a Facebook live broadcast. For October, they stopped by Heritage Ridge Creamery to film their “Grilled Cheese of the Month” Facebook Live event using our tasty cheese and butter. Today, Chef Michelle was joined by MMPA’s Director of Sales, Jim Feeney, and Master Cheesemaker, Jennifer Digman, to whip up the spicy and gooey delight.
If you missed the live video, you can watch the recording below. Don’t forget to comment within 24 hours of the video for a chance to win dairy prizes.
To order some of the delicious cheese from Heritage Ridge, shop our products online and use code AUTUMNFIESTA for 20% off of your order! (offer ends 10/04/2018).
https://www.facebook.com/indairy/videos/337105953692274/?__xts__[0]=68.ARC79GoGHMKF-5qcAHnxOvS8LQVPfI1HHOZi5pHIzMeQrxL2jdLlAo3wgJEo5ILPgwrKnq5rhtV7V19FTaryzU_rEtBVDJQ-B_cnSxADkGI2yN6LoM51jrMSQMbWnsWZsX9bFiREQBqGRSGiaGeToaXJfYHAvZCb5hdnLcpd_yhRvDQH2Biqng&__tn__=H-R