There was never a time in Ethan Johnson’s life that he wasn’t thinking about cows. This may sound strange to some folks, but not when you come from a multi-generational family of dairy farmers and earn a degree from South Dakota State University in dairy science with a focus in dairy manufacturing.
At 26 years of age, Johnson went from chasing and feeding calves as a child on the family farm to owning and running Amo Creamery, which opened its doors in November last year to over 1,000 visitors in one weekend. Located in Heron Lake, Minnesota, Amo Creamery provides farm-fresh, nutrient-rich dairy products crafted with care, delivering the wholesome goodness of cheese and milk straight from their pastures to customers’ tables.
Moo-ving in a New Direction
“A challenge our small farm faced was a significant increase in shipping costs,” said Johnson. “The cost to ship milk grew from $200 a month in 2013 to $4,600 a month in 2023. This is what led us to build the creamery.”
As with any new business, growing pains and trials and errors are inevitable. Even though Johnson grew up on a dairy farm, his family specialized in dairy production, not dairy manufacturing. Dairy production focuses on the raw milk collection and milking process, while dairy manufacturing (Johnson’s specialty) focuses on the processing and production of dairy products.
“I spent two years planning and building the creamery, and when we opened, we hadn’t purchased shelving to age our cheddar,” Johnson said. “We managed for a short time, but it was clear a long-term solution was needed. Through my research, wood shelving was ruled out due to sanitation concerns, and wire shelving wouldn’t work because it leaves marks on the cheese.”
Camshelving Takes Cheese Aging to the Next Level
As fate would have it, Johnson’s research landed him on a blog from 2022 on Cambro’s website that featured a creamery in Michigan who used Camshelving to age their cheese.
“I was impressed by the design—lightweight yet strong, antimicrobial, and superior to any other option I found on the market,” Johnson said.
After he inquired about Camshelving, he was put in touch with Michael Herskowitz, territory sales manager with Cambro. “Almost every shelving project starts with three key components,” Herskowitz said. “Food safety, organization, and maximization of space. Ethan had another crucial component that needed to be considered, which was the weight associated when dealing with large blocks of cheese. A wire shelf would leave indentations on the cheese, so that was his challenge,” he added.
Holy Cow! Cambro has 2-D and 3-D Design Capabilities
Herskowitz recommended Camshelving Premium Series, with a load-bearing capacity of 2,000 pounds per unit. He utilized Cambro’s CDS (Camshelving Design Service), which analyzes the most suitable and cost-effective shelving design for each space, in a 2-D and 3-D format. This service ensures space is efficiently allocated, operational flow is maximized, and organizational challenges are solved.
“I’m very happy with the shelving, and it’s performed exactly how we wanted it to,” Johnson said. “Besides the cheese, we can fit a lot more product in our cooler than we were able to before.”
From Farm to Fridge
Amo Creamery’s milk and cheese products can be found in nine local grocery stores, as well as on location at the creamery Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
“When you’re talking about good food and health for people, the closer you are to your food source, the fresher it is. We’re serving our neighbors, and that’s the kind of pride we have in what we do. Our neighbors deserve the best because they are the best.”
Author: Cynthia Connally is the Digital Communications Manager at Cambro.
Special thanks to Michael Herskowitz, Cambro territory sales manager, for the introduction and support in bringing this story to life.
