Homegrown Cheese and Adventures in Iowa

Another interesting week in the GROWMARK System! On Tuesday I toured the Ropp Jersey Cheese farm with the Heartland chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA). Becky Ropp, GROWMARK manager, career development, was kind enough to lead our group through the cheesmaking operation she and her husband manage, along with his parents. They use 100 percent of the milk from their herd of Jersey cattle to make over 80 artisan cheeses in a Cheese on Wheels factory which is enclosed in a semi-trailer. Of course, I had to bring home several samples of their cheese curds!

Thursday brought a trip to STAR Energy in the northwestern corner of Iowa. Jenny Haycraft, marketing communications specialist, and I are working with Dave Brecher, STAR's general manager, and Shannon Martin, propane operations assistant, on some new company brochures. We had an initial conversation over the phone, but Jenny and I jumped at the chance to tag along on the jet to meet Dave and Shannon in person. All in all, we had a very successful meeting and made great progress.