Salute to Idaho Agriculture: Ballard Farms

GOODING, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Ballard family returned to Southern Idaho in the nineties and went right back into an Idaho tradition, opening a dairy in Gooding.

“Dairy for a while,” said Ballard Farms Owner Stacie Ballard, “[then] decided to add a value-added product, so we decided on cheese because if you don’t sell it all you can throw it on the shelf and age it.”

Cheese became the sustainable business model for the Ballards, and this year, they decided to transition away from dairy and focus entirely on cheese.

“We just couldn’t afford to feed them anymore,” Ballard said, “and it’s a shame that it’s cheaper to buy milk than it is to make your own milk.”

While economics forced the farm to move away from their own milk production, the Ballards continued to make certain their business continued to remain local.

“We actually buy our milk from a small dairy down the road,” Ballard said.

Now, with their focus singularly on arguably the most popular dairy byproduct, Ballard Farm has grown a reputation for a unique product.

“Most well-known is actually our grilling cheese, which is a cheese that doesn’t melt, and you can use it as a meat substitute,” Ballard said.

Grilling cheese may be the most popular, but that doesn’t mean that Ballard Cheese has a limited spread of options.

“[We have] white cheddar, pepper cheddar, black pepper cheddar, truffle and salt cheddar and our newest and most loved is our huckleberry cheddar,” said Ballard.

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