ROCKVILLE -- A local dairy producer is making a name for themselves across the country.

Stearns County is fourth in the nation for milk production, so it’s no surprise that it is also home to a facility that supplies goat cheese to nearly all 50 states.

Stickney Hill Dairy in Rockville started on a farmstead with around 700 goats on County Road 48 in 1999. It was named after butter producer Truman Stickney who settled in Maine Prairie Township at what came to be known as Stickney Hill in the late 1800s.

Currently, the company operates out of a 20,000 square foot facility along Highway 23 and receives milk from over 30 Minnesota suppliers. That location opened in November 2016, and General Manager Glen Wood says it allowed for a lot of growth.

We were producing approximately 60,000 pounds a month of finished chevre goat cheese. Currently, we're producing anywhere from 300,000 to 370,000 pounds a month.

The current facility was built with future expansions in mind. Wood says they are looking to expand again already in the next year, effectively tripling in size and workforce.

That growth would also give the company an opportunity to explore other innovative products such as pizza cheese, cheese spreads, and cheddars.

Wood says the passion for the process and the product are what really set them apart.

That translates, I believe,  all the way to the cheese make, and to the staff, and to our customers. I think that they're able to see the passion and everything that goes into it, that we care. You're not just a big conglomerate. You're not just a number.

 

Stickney Hill Dairy supplies some of the biggest names in the food industry and can be found in stores around the United States under various labels.

Byproducts from the cheese also get a second life, helping make other products including infant formula.

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