Alma Creamery, LLC

Gift Shop is open - no tours currently being offered.

Interview done in 2004 by the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

Alma Cheese - part 1

This is Kansas Profile. I'm Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

How about some cheese for the holidays? Today, we’ll meet a company which is producing gift boxes of cheese for the holidays. They make very nice gifts – and in fact, this company has been making wonderful cheese in rural Kansas since 1946. Stay tuned for a special holiday edition of Kansas Profile.

Alma Creamery has an interesting history. The company was founded back in 1946 and expanded through the years, but then closed in 2000. The plant closure was a blow to the community. For years, Alma has been famous for its Alma Cheese. Fortunately, local entrepreneur Bernie Hansen repurchased the plant and reopened it with new energy and investment in 2004.

Linda Craghead showed me how the wonderful Alma cheese is produced in their facility. Milk is collected by tanker truck from dairy farms between Frankfort and Alma. That milk is delivered at 7 p.m. or 4 a.m, depending on the driver, to the plant in Alma. Each load of milk is tested for antibiotics before it ever leaves the truck. Once the milk is approved and unloaded, the truck is sanitized and certified for its next load.

The milk is stored in big tanks and then run through a new pasteurizer which heats it to 164 degrees. It is then cooled and run into huge stainless steel vats which can hold 25 thousand pounds of milk. Paddles stir the milk while cultures and rennet are added, and color if necessary. The result of course, just as in the nursery rhyme, is curds and whey.

The whey is separated and pumped out to be used as a high protein livestock feed additive. The curds will be milled, cut, and turned, and then formed and pressed into blocks and horns of cheese. These are pressed overnight, vacuum packed and sealed. The cheeses are aged at least 10 days and up to 18 months. The longer the aging, the sharper the flavor. Linda Craghead says with a smile, "We will sell no cheese before its time."

The Alma Creamery produces and sells a variety of delicious natural cheeses, including cheese curds. There is cheddar, pepper jack, colby, longhorn, co-jack, and more. A new feature at Alma Cheese is a smokehouse, where natural hickory is used to produce delicious smoked cheeses. For the holidays, Alma Creamery is producing two gift boxes and is assembling another gift box with other locally produced foods in Wabaunsee County.

Part of the secret of Alma Creamery’s success is that these cheeses are literally hand-made. There is no giant, automated assembly line here. These are craftsmen at work. For example, they hand-wash the equipment and hand-turn the cheese which allows great attention to detail. The staff here are just like family.

So where can a person buy Alma Cheese? These products are available from the retail store adjoining the plant, as well as Dillons, Food 4 Less, and Associated Grocers stores plus several Kansas-theme stores around the state. Their mail order business is expanding as well. Call toll-free at 866-765-3522 or go to www.almacreamery.com.

Demand for this excellent product is growing. The retail shop at the plant will soon be expanded in size. Linda expects the work force at Alma Cheese to double after the first of the year too. What a blessing that this historic Kansas company is being restored, and that wonderful Alma cheese is again being produced in this rural community. After all, Alma is a town of 842 people. Now, that’s rural.

How about some cheese for the holidays? Alma Creamery can take care of your needs. We salute Linda Craghead, Bernie Hansen, and all those involved with Alma Creamery for making a difference by rebuilding this remarkable business. As Linda says, "To bring this plant alive again is like a Christmas present to the community."

We’ll learn more about Alma Creamery on our next program.

Kansas Profile is produced with assistance from the Resource Conservation and Development Councils of Kansas. Wishing you happy holidays, for the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development, this is Ron Wilson with Kansas Profile.

Alma Cheese - part 2

This is Kansas Profile. I'm Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

The comeback kid. That’s a term which is sometimes used to describe a sports figure or a politician. Today we’ll meet another comeback kid of sorts. He is a rural entrepreneur who has brought back to life a historic Kansas business. It’s today’s Kansas Profile.

Meet Bernie Hansen, the rural entrepreneur of which I speak. Bernie has developed several successful food-oriented businesses in northeast Kansas. He lives near Wamego, population 4,260 people. Now, that’s rural.

On a previous program, we learned about Alma Cheese in Alma, Kansas. Bernie bought this company in 1986. Alma cheese is a famous name in these parts. The original Alma Cheese plant opened in 1946.

Alvin Kahle was one of the early employees at the plant. He started washing milk bottles at the plant in 1949 and worked his way up to foreman in later years. Jim Ferguson is another longtime employee. He started working here in 1968.

The Alma Cheese plant went through a couple of owners before Bernie Hansen bought it. Bernie developed the company and sold it during the late 1990s. The new owners had problems and in 2000, the plant shut down. This was a sad time for the Alma community and the company’s customers. I remember stopping by the plant during that time, and finding to my surprise that it was closed and I couldn’t get any cheese.

Of course, it was especially sad for people like Alvin Kahle and Jim Ferguson who had been an integral part of the company for so long. And so these two men did something extraordinary: On their own time, they would come into the plant every other week, clean it up, and maintain it.

By fall 2003, the old Alma Cheese plant was going on the auction block. Local investors wanted to keep the plant in town, and what they really hoped is that someone like Bernie Hansen would buy it again. Bernie was approached and he was reluctant but agreed to consider it.

In October 2003, the auction was held for the Alma Cheese plant. Prospective buyers came from as far away as Wisconsin and South America. Alvin Kahle was there, and when he saw Bernie, Bernie said, "I’ll tell you what: I’ll buy this plant if you’ll come work for me." Alvin agreed and Bernie made the purchase. People said, "You should have seen the smile on Alvin’s face." Bernie also brought in Linda Craghead as general manager.

Even with the maintenance the plant had received, it had been more than three years since it operated and the facility needed to be upgraded. Linda Craghead brought the state dairy inspector to look over the facility and asked him for two things: First, if the plant was to be operated tomorrow, what was necessary to bring it up to the standard; and secondly, what would be on his wish list to improve the facility? Linda says, "To Bernie’s great credit, he did it all. He did everything on the wish list and more." In fact, all things considered, Bernie invested around a million dollars in upgrading and improving the facilities, equipment, and personnel. Wow.

On April 28, 2004, the first batch of cheese was produced in the newly remodeled plant. Production continues to grow from there. The company is now known as Alma Creamery L.L.C., and it continues to produce the wonderful Alma Cheese. Alma Creamery employs 12 people, including Alvin Kahle and Jim Ferguson – who between them have 80 years of service in the company. Wow.

The comeback kid. That’s a term for politicians and sports figures, and maybe it describes Bernie Hansen, Alvin Kahle, and Jim Ferguson too. They’ve been involved in the return of Alma Cheese. Now, in Alvin’s case, it may be a comeback but he’s no kid: He’s now 75 years old, and is a master cheesemaker. We salute Bernie and Alvin, Jim Ferguson, Linda Craghead, and all the Alma Creamery crew for making a difference in restoring this wonderful business in rural Kansas.

Kansas Profile is produced with assistance from the Resource Conservation and Development Councils of Kansas. For the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development, this is Ron Wilson with Kansas Profile.