Central Illinois Local Foods Spotlight Ken Ropp
Ropp
Jersey Cheese
T
he Ropp family of Bloomington, Illinois has been milking Jersey cows on their farm since the mid 1800s. Today, sixth generation farmer, Ken Ropp, son of Ray and Carol Ropp, manages the grain and dairy farm with the help of 11 employees. Although their journey through these difficult times in the dairy industry has not been easy, their perseverance has led to the sucessful business and farm they have today. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1993, Ken went to work in sales, but always wanted to eventually return to the dairy. In 2000, he was able to join a partnership with his parents, Ray and Carol, just as milk prices were at a record high. However, just six months later, prices reached a devastating low, leaving the Ropp family with some crucial decisions to make to determine the future of their operation. In most sectors of agriculture, including the dairy industry, it can be difficult for small family farms to compete with larger, commercial operations. “Inputs are constantly going up and on the dairy side of things, we have been at the same low milk prices for so long,” says Ken. “Illinois only has about 400 dairy farms left, and unfortunately that number is going to keep going down.” Ray and Ken felt that the only way for their operation to survive in today’s market was to develop a niche within the farm to set them apart. Not long after, Ken visited the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin and saw a cheese trailer demonstration, which used milk from the cows on the fairgrounds to make cheese. He had never made cheese before, but Ken began to contemplate if it was a possibility for their farm. After much thought and with no other local cheese operations nearby to learn from or compare to, they took the risk anyway. “We had to adapt as a business and as a family to the wants and needs of customers,” says Ken. They became the first local cheese operation in the area by starting Ropp Jersey Cheese and had made their first blocks of cheddar by 2006.
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