Agricultural co-operatives have had a rough ride over the past few years, but if there is a template for co-op success, Tillamook Cheese in Oregon appears to be it.
The company is owned by about 165 dairy farmers of the Tillamook County Creamery Association.
The co-op, in business since 1909, has grown to become the most popular brand in the state. It also sells nationally.
It has a large, modern cheese plant and storage facility in Tillamook County and recently built another plant in the eastern part of the state.
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Tillamook’s location is a blessing and a curse. Its moist, moderate climate is ideal for dairy cattle, but the region is hemmed in by the ocean on one side and mountains on the other with less than ideal transportation links to ship milk to major cities.
But today’s Tillamook plant, which receives more than 1.8 million pounds of milk each day, is a major attraction on the busy coast tourist highway.
More than a million visitors a year stop in to buy ice cream and cheese and to tour the visitor centre where the story of cheese making is told and where a second storey viewing gallery looks down on the vats where the cheese is made and the cutting and packaging area.
The visitor centre is an excellent marketing initiative. Probably most of the co-op’s customers have been there and seen how “their” cheese is made, creating a strong bond between processor and consumer.
Visitors are told that the cheddar recipe, devised by a Canadian, Peter McIntosh in 1894, hasn’t changed in 100 years. The co-op does not try to compete head on with the big, national cheese makers, preferring to concentrate on the premium market and so has a strict quality control program.
Tillamook also plays up its co-op structure, reinforcing to customers that it buys its milk from member family farmers, most of whose dairies are small by American standards. The co-op’s producer members receive steady payments for their milk that are significantly better than the average.
The co-op also has an active agricultural education program with the state’s schools and is involved in community projects such as park cleanups.
This combination of attention to quality, tourism marketing and farmer-consumer links is a model for any co-operative hoping to survive and prosper in a crowded market.
Agricultural co-operatives have had a rough ride over the past few years, but if there is a template for co-op success, Tillamook Cheese in Oregon appears to be it.
The company is owned by about 165 dairy farmers of the Tillamook County Creamery Association.
The co-op, in business since 1909, has grown to become the most popular brand in the state. It also sells nationally.
It has a large, modern cheese plant and storage facility in Tillamook County and recently built another plant in the eastern part of the state.
Tillamook’s location is a blessing and a curse. Its moist, moderate climate is ideal for dairy cattle, but the region is hemmed in by the ocean on one side and mountains on the other with less than ideal transportation links to ship milk to major cities.
But today’s Tillamook plant, which receives more than 1.8 million pounds of milk each day, is a major attraction on the busy coast tourist highway.
More than a million visitors a year stop in to buy ice cream and cheese and to tour the visitor centre where the story of cheese making is told and where a second storey viewing gallery looks down on the vats where the cheese is made and the cutting and packaging area.
The visitor centre is an excellent marketing initiative. Probably most of the co-op’s customers have been there and seen how “their” cheese is made, creating a strong bond between processor and consumer.
Visitors are told that the cheddar recipe, devised by a Canadian, Peter McIntosh in 1894, hasn’t changed in 100 years. The co-op does not try to compete head on with the big, national cheese makers, preferring to concentrate on the premium market and so has a strict quality control program.
Tillamook also plays up its co-op structure, reinforcing to customers that it buys its milk from member family farmers, most of whose dairies are small by American standards. The co-op’s producer members receive steady payments for their milk that are significantly better than the average.
The co-op also has an active agricultural education program with the state’s schools and is involved in community projects such as park cleanups.
This combination of attention to quality, tourism marketing and farmer-consumer links is a model for any co-operative hoping to survive and prosper in a crowded market.
