Little ole Sweetwater has it's own cheese factory! Most of Sweetwater Valley Farm's milk is sold to Mayfield (see previous blog: "Holy Cow!"), but about 15% is used to make farmstead cheese in over 24 varieties. Feed blends for their Holsteins and Jerseys are mixed according to the age of the cow, using ingredients such as soy bean, cottonseed, hominy, and a specialized mineral mix. Each cow consumes about 100 lbs. of feed and 50 gallons of water per day! The cows are milked three times a day and produce between 8 and 10 gallons of milk. We were able to watch the automated process. After a walking tour of the dairy, we partook of the numerous samples back in the farm store. Drew's cheese of choice and purchase was the Tomato Herb cheddar, while mine was the Buttermilk cheddar. Buddy likes anything!
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