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Maytag Dairy Farms, based in Newton, Iowa USA, is a manufacturer of blue cheese and other food products.
Maytag Dairy Farms was established in 1941 by Frederick Louis Maytag II and his brother Robert Maytag. The history of the business dates back to 1919, when their father, Elmer Henry Maytag, purchased a single cow to provide milk for his family. [1] He soon began to develop a small herd of Holstein-Friesian cows that would supply milk to his community, winning a vast number of blue ribbons at livestock shows across the United States. The offspring from his herd began to attract buyers from around the world.
Upon Elmer Henry Maytag’s death in 1940, his sons took over the farm and Fred assumed his father's role as President of the Maytag Appliance Corporation. [2] The company pursued his idea of creating a uniquely American blue cheese made from cow's milk. Fred collaborated with Iowa State University dairy researchers to pioneer the first American blue cheese to compete with classic European cheeses such as Roquefort made from sheep's milk. The cheese plant and caves were completed a year later and the first wheels of Maytag Blue Cheese were formed in October 1941. The milk from Maytag's Iowa Holsteins resulted in a rich, creamy cheese resembling European bleu cheeses' flavors. Ever a visionary, Fred sold his cheese in a unique new way—by catalog—essentially creating the practice of mail-ordering food that thrives today. In addition to their award-winning blue cheese, Maytag Dairy Farms also produces white cheddar and cheese spreads for their catalog business.
Fred's son Fritz Maytag assumed leadership in 1962 and led the small company for the next 50 years. Fritz now serves as chairman Emeritus and a director, along with his brother Ken Maytag and sister Martha Maytag.
The cheese is made by hand in the small cheese plant that was constructed 80 years ago in the shadow of E.H.’s milking barn. The prize-winning herd is gone, but the barn remains and the company uses fresh milk from neighbor dairy farmers. The hand-formed wheels are aged for approximately six months.
Maytag Dairy Farms was family-owned until 2019 when it was acquired by Midwest Growth Partners, a private equity fund manager. [3] In July 2022, AgCertain Industries purchased Maytag Dairy farms from Midwest Growth Partners. [4]
A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also describe a dairy farm or the part of a mixed farm dedicated to milk for human consumption, whether from cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep, horses or camels.
Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located 30 miles (48 km) east of Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760. It is the home of Iowa Speedway and Maytag Dairy Farms.
The Holstein Friesian is an international breed or group of breeds of dairy cattle. It originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland and in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It is the dominant breed in industrial dairy farming worldwide, and is found in more than 160 countries. It is known by many names, among them Holstein, Friesian and Black and White.
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that goes back to the early Neolithic era, around the seventh millennium BC, in many regions of Europe and Africa. Before the 20th century, milking was done by hand on small farms. Beginning in the early 20th century, milking was done in large scale dairy farms with innovations including rotary parlors, the milking pipeline, and automatic milking systems that were commercially developed in the early 1990s.
Dairy cattle are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species Bos taurus.
Maytag blue cheese is produced on the Maytag Dairy Farms just outside of Newton, Iowa city limits.
Frederick Louis Maytag II was President and, later, Chairman of the Maytag company. In the early 1940s, he and Robert E. Maytag, both sons of Elmer Henry Maytag, created a cheese plant and storage caves on Maytag Dairy Farms to take advantage of a process developed by Iowa State University researchers to make blue cheese using homogenized milk. He was married and had a son named Frederick Louis Maytag III.
Beecher's Handmade Cheese is an artisan cheesemaker and retail shop with locations in the Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington and New York City's Flatiron District. The company was founded by Kurt Beecher Dammeier in 2003 and opened in the Pike Place Market after Dammeier obtained a difficult to obtain storefront lease in the Market. Because Dammeier had never been a cheesemaker, he sought out the assistance of Brad Sinko, who helped run a family cheese-making business in Oregon. A second location was opened in 2011 in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.
Béal Organic Cheese is made by Kate Carmody at Béal Lodge Dairy Farm, a small family-run dairy farm of Holstein cows on 56 acres located by the mouth of the River Shannon in Listowel, County Kerry in Ireland. It is a cheddar cheese and claims to be the first Irish produced using organic farming and methods. Béal Organic Cheese is handmade from cow's milk.
Fivemiletown Creamery is based in Fivemiletown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and is a producer of handmade speciality soft cheeses and cheddars The company is a farmers' co-operative, and employs around 40 people. The creamery draws its milk supplies mostly from over 60 dairy farmers from across Northern Ireland. The company was founded in 1898 and added cheese production in 1972. Fivemiletown Creamery is the only speciality cheese maker in Northern Ireland. In 2014 Fivemiletown Creamery was acquired by Dale Farm.
The Chaseholm Farm Creamery is a 350-acre (140 ha) family-run farm in Pine Plains, New York, on the borders of Dutchess and Columbia Counties in New York's Hudson Valley, protected by the Columbia Land Conservancy. It works with many farms in the surrounding Hudson Valley as part of the local food movement. The Chaseholm Farm Creamery is currently run by siblings Rory and Sarah Chase.
The Caves of Faribault is an artisan cheese company headquartered in Faribault, Minnesota as a division of Swiss Valley Farms. Utilizing sandstone caves to age cheese, the company makes a variety of raw milk products, including several styles of blue cheese, Gouda, and cheddar.
Wyke Farms is a producer of cheese and butter in Somerset. Wyke Farms is the largest independent producer of cheese within the United Kingdom.
The dairy industry in the United States includes the farms, cooperatives, and companies that produce milk and cheese and related products, such as milking machines, and distribute them to the consumer. By 1925, the United States had 1.5-2 million dairy cows, each producing an average of 4200 lb of milk per year. By 2007, there were 9.1 million dairy cows but their average milk production was over 20,000 pounds per year, with eight pounds per gallon.
Dairy is a major industry in the state of Wisconsin. Being known for its dairy production, the state is often called "America's Dairyland." The industry is prominent in official state symbols—being displayed on the state's license plates, state's slogan, and on the state quarter.
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