Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1917-01-05
Cheese Making in Virginia

Blacksburg, Va, has this to say
about the possibilities of the
Cheese making industry in Virginia:
The mountain sections OF Virinia
though isolated from markets and
nearby railroad transportation, of
fer special opportunities for cheese
making.
The long grazing seasons, blue
grass pastures, and cold s>rlng
water afford the mountain farmers
excellent natural advantages to
produce fine quality of milk in
large quantities at minimum cost.
The cold spring water enables
the farmer to cool the milk to a
temperature low enough to keep it
sweet twelve hours or longer, which
is very essential in cheese making.
The farmer living a long distance
from the railroad is at a great dis
advantage in marketing farm crops
on account of their bulkiness, COM
pared with the facilities cheese
offer for disposing of his milk.
To illustrate, ten Of corn at
seventy five cents per bushel would
bring about S25 %, While ton of
cheese Tvnld be worth about $780,
10; in other words, fourteen times
as much corn as cheese would have
to be hauled to get the same re-
turns.
The first consideration in estab :
fishing a scheese factory is the
number of COWS. 1t wou l not be
practical to establish a fs Glory with
| less than the product of SEVENTY
five mich COWS, located within a
radius of three or four miles. An
equipment that would be practical
| for handling from 500 to 1900
pounds of milk daily may be pur-
chased at a coast of S400 to $3.50.
The cost of the building depends
upon the size and material used,
but usually S4OO to $3.50 will erect
a building that will answer all
purposes for the aforementioned
equi pment. The expense of opera
ting a factory is very little more
than large quantity of milk, up to
FIVE or six thousand pounds, is
delivered. In many sections a stip-
ulated price is paid to cover all ex-
penses. The usual price is 81 SO
per hundred pounds of cheese,
which covers the cost of furnishing,
paying the maker and all other ex-
penses; or the expense of manu-
featuring may be deducted from
the amount of money received for
the cheese, and a small amount set
aside to form a sinking fund.
The amount of labor required to
operate a cheese factory depends
largely upon the ability of the
cheese maker. Usually one man
can handle from 5000 to 5000
pounds of milk alone, providing
the milk received is sweet, clean
and free from orders.
The question of delivery for
patrons living three or four miles
from factory must be considered
During the fall and winter months.
milk need not be delivered but
once every two days, in cold wealth
er, once every third day, providing
it can be kept at temperature be-
low so degrees F., which may
easily be done by setting the cans
of milk into thak or spring of
cold water as soon as MIXED.
The price received by the farmer
for milk at cheese factory depends
wholly upon the price of cheese.
With cheese selling at the average
of 15c per pound, the farmer would
receive as follows:
One hundred pounds of four per
cent milk will make ten pounds OF
cheese, and with cheese selling at
the average price of 15c pound
would bring 81 so, minus the cost
of manufacturing, which would be
15c per hundred pounds of milk,
with the manufacturing price of
ST 90 per hundred pounds of cheese
| In addition to this, the farm re
ceives from IS to SO per cent of all
the milk delivered to the factory
back in the form of whey, which
has feeding value of l6c per hun
dred. With the net price of ST IS
from the cheese, plus 13c 'value of
whey per hundred pounds of milk, !"
makes a total net price of 81 .4S
per hundred pounds of milk, with
cheese selling at 15c per pound.
With cheese selling at zoe per
pound, one hundred pounds of
milk would bring So 90, minus l5c,
the cost of manufacture, leaving a
net price of 81 IS per hundred
from the cheese in hundred
pounds of milk, plus 13c, the value
of the whey, making a total value
of ST. per hundred.
Cheese of coed quality always
finds a ready market Not only
are the markets open in Virginia to
good product at the highest price,
but in fifty southern cities, within
EASY reach of Virginia farmers,