What You'll Learn
- How a cheese factory runs organic and nonorganic production lines while keeping it simple
- How QR-coded milk tracking traces every cheese batch back to the specific farms
- What a batch traceback looks like, working backward from finished product to milk ticket
- How simple systems and thorough documentation make inspections manageable
Watch Time: 9:12
Transcript
Bob Wills (00:12):
Cedar Grove Cheese is one of the oldest cheese factories in Wisconsin. It’s been here since 1878. We’ve made so many different kinds here from water buffalo to German Clark, and a Brazilian grilling cheese. I’m Bob Wills and I bought the factory in 1989, and the values of organic were just something that we really believed in. I was concerned because a lot of our farmers were dying of cancer, and I was concerned about chemical use on farms. So it seemed like it was better for the cows, better for the people who are eating the cheese, better for the environment. The trick on organics and making organics work is knowing what your customer wants. There are situations in which being certified organic isn’t even necessary. If your group of consumers knows how you do things well enough that they don’t care about outside certification.
Debby Byrne (01:15):
We are both conventional and organic. Everything in our plant is approved for organic, so I can use it on conventional and organic. So that keeps it simple. That’s the goal. Keep it simple, not contaminate.
Debby Byrne (01:30):
When I started with Cedar Grove Cheese, I wasn’t even looking for a job. So I come down for an interview, this is in 1999, and I was like, oh, okay, when can you start? And I’m like, okay. So I started as the bookkeeping and then it just evolved because Bob would ask questions like, what’s going on with this? And I first was like, I don’t know. And then I was like, you know, I’m tired of saying I don’t know to everything. So it was, I’ll find out. And then when our general manager quit in, I think 2003, I just took over that role.
Debby Byrne (02:13):
Each milk patron that I buy milk specifically from has a number, which is assigned through the state. So I say, I picked up 840. I know he’s an organic patron and he’s on this milk ticket.
Bob Wills (02:29):
The farm will have a sticker like this and the truck will have a sticker like this.
Bob Wills (02:36):
So the milk hauler takes their phone and they read the QR code on there, and then they’ll take a picture of the farm information. They’ll type in the amount of milk that was picked up there, and the same, basically the same information that’s on that ticket that goes into an electronic file. So what this allows us to do is for any batch of cheese, the consumer would be able to take their package, take a picture of a QR code on the package, and get a list of all the farms that the milk came from. When the milk comes in, we bring a sample of the milk in and we run it for antibiotics, make sure that there’s no residuals.
Debby Byrne (03:26):
If it tests negative, then we’ll start unloading it into a tank. We have limited tank space, so we do use tanks for organic and conventional, but we always have a washed and a sanitized tank for the organic guidelines with a plaque that’s on it, telling if it’s organic or conventional.
Bob Wills (04:00):
So this is a logistics system. So this tells us how many pounds we made and then a list of the ingredients that went in. It’ll tell me the batch numbers and the dates. So when we wrap out the cheese, then get a scale weight and a sticker for it. So the sticker will tell the type of cheese, the bat, the date number, and the weight of the block. And then it has a QR code on there. And here we have a bunch of cheese. In here we have organic rows and conventional rows. Here you can see this batch of organic white cheddar. We’ve got the information on it about the total pounds that are on there. We have individual weights for each of the blocks that’s on there.
Debby Byrne (05:02):
For the most part, since we keep it very simple, there’s not been a lot of changes because if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. We do start our day with conventional, so we need to have that break of cleaning and sanitizing everything that that’s the lines, everything. So we have that break and then we must document it.
Debby Byrne (05:30):
My first inspection probably would’ve been about 2004. It only takes four to five hours for our inspection. So we’re going to walk through the plant, we’re going to verify the products that we’re using, the chemicals. We’re going to go over the paperwork to show the organic integrity of all the ingredients that I’m using. And we’re going to do a mock recall.
Debby Byrne (05:56):
The traceability for organic starts at the end and I work completely back. So the first thing we do is we go to our logistics system, and we pick batch trace, and it spits it all out within two minutes. In this organic, you used this rennet, show me that invoice for that. So then I go to my accounting system and I find the invoice for that. Then they’ll say, show me the milk ticket. So look at the tank that it pulled out of, the tank that it pulls out of will lead me back to my milk tickets. For me, my first inspection was nerve wracking because even though I knew the systems I didn’t know what are they going to ask? How do I know I know it well enough? Which you’re always learning, so I’m over that now. The thing that is most important that I realize is if you don’t understand something, ask. Do not just think, oh, I know what they’re talking about. Because then you might get back your inspection that you don’t have this system in place, but you do. So always ask.
Debby Byrne (07:08):
I think because I came in not knowing anything, I think that made my job easier because I got to learn as I went kind of at my pace. Not knowing how much I didn’t know made it easier for me to learn as I went. You have to just think, start to finish. And even if it’s the littlest thing that you think, well, that’s a no brainer, you’ve got to write it down. So from start to finish, who are you going to buy from? How are you going to raise something organic? Do you test for it to make sure that it’s organic? I mean, just completely follow what you think a consumer would want to know as well.
Bob Wills (07:48):
Once you can track everything from farm to family, you have the ability to connect the two of them and to tell the stories about the farms to the consumers.
Debby Byrne (08:00):
Believe in what you’re doing, but know it’s going to be a heck of a lot of work to get there. I think it feels good to know that you’re putting out a safe quality product for people.
This video profiles Cedar Grove Cheese, one of Wisconsin’s oldest cheese factories, operating since 1878 and making organic and nonorganic cheese under one roof. Owner Bob Wills bought the factory in 1989 and pursued organic out of genuine conviction. He was worried about chemical use on farms after seeing farmers he knew develop cancer. Bob believes organic is better for the cows, the people eating the cheese, and the environment. He also offers a candid business point, that knowing what your customer wants comes first, and that certification isn’t always necessary if your consumers already trust how you do things. For Cedar Grove, though, certification made sense, and the video shows how to keep organic certification manageable at a split operation.
The standout theme is traceability from farm to family. Every organic milk producer has a state-assigned number, and each pickup is logged through QR-coded stickers on the farm and truck, so any batch of cheese can be traced back to the specific farms the milk came from. Incoming milk is tested for antibiotic residues before it’s unloaded. Tank space is limited, so the operation doesn’t have dedicated organic tanks but always keeps a washed, sanitized, and labeled tank ready for organic milk. A logistics system records batch numbers, dates, ingredients, and weights, and finished cheese carries a sticker and QR code that can show customers the farms that supplied the milk for that cheese. General manager Debby Byrne demonstrates a batch traceback that starts from the finished product and works backward through the logistics system, the accounting invoices for ingredients, and the milk tickets.
The video keeps returning to a philosophy of simplicity and thorough documentation. Byrne notes that because everything in the plant is approved for organic use, the same materials work on both lines, which keeps things simple and reduces contamination risk. They start each day with nonorganic cheese production, then break to clean, sanitize, and document the cleaning before running the organic batch. Her advice to newcomers is practical and encouraging. Write down even the things that feel obvious, follow the product from start to finish the way a consumer would want to, and above all ask questions rather than assume you understand. Inspections take only four to five hours at Cedar Grove because the systems are dialed in, and while her first was nerve-wracking, the message is that the work is worth it for the pride of putting out a safe, quality product.
About the Featured Operation
- Organic Cheese Maker
- Plain, WI
- 28 Employees
- Certified Organic since 1995
A family-owned cheese manufacturer producing both conventional and organic cheeses, including cow, sheep, and goat varieties. Small enough to design productions directly to a customer’s specifications, it makes specialty cheeses and produces in bulk for other companies to label and market.
