TWIN GROVE, Wis. — In a world where bigger and faster sometimes seems better, Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Jeff Wideman of Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative takes pride in the fact that his cheese company is on the smaller side and continues to make its milled curd Cheddars and other cheeses the old-fashioned way.

Nestled in the heart of one of the country's best-known cheesemaking regions — Green County, Wisconsin — Maple Leaf has been making cheese since 1910, with Wideman only the co-op's fifth cheesemaker. Much has remained unchanged during that time. For example, the co-op's reliance on local milk, its focus on cheese quality and the area people's willingness to help out to get the job done all are important parts of Maple Leaf today.

Meanwhile, other things have changed over time, with one of the biggest differences being that Maple Leaf has evolved from a small commodity cheese manufacturer to a manufacturer of specialty cheese. When Wideman joined the co-op as its head cheesemaker and began buying the cheese company assets in the early 1980s, he started considering the move to specialty cheese.

"I knew small commodity plants couldn't survive," he says, noting that the trend in the past two decades had indeed been toward bigger commodity manufacturing facilities to the detriment of the smaller players.

Not that Maple Leaf got out of the commodity business exactly — it just gave some of its commodity cheeses a specialty twist. These days Maple Leaf makes some cheeses that could be considered commodity items at first glance but really are specialty.

"We look at Cheddar as a specialty item," he says.

Take, for instance, two of Maple Leaf's most recent Cheddar introductions: a double-milled cranberry and aged white Cheddar cheese and True Bleu Cheddar, a double-milled blend of blue cheese and aged Cheddar.

When making flavored cheeses, Maple Leaf focuses on making sure the highest quality ingredients are used.

"We don't spare costs as far as ingredients go," Wideman says.

Maple Leaf makes a variety of cheeses, including Cheddars, Jacks, flavored Jacks, Edam, Gouda and Queso Blanco.

The most recent additions to the line-up, Wideman says, were sparked by his involvement in the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Program. In 2000, Wideman became a graduate of this elite Wisconsin-only program which recognizes cheesemakers who have had their cheesemaking license for at least 10 years and who complete a rigorous course of training and testing over three years' time.

Jim Path, a Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research cheese outreach specialist who directs the Master Cheesemaker Program, encouraged Wideman to make the newest Maple Leaf cheeses after seeing similar items made in Europe and doing well there.

Other ideas for cheese all are Wideman's own.

"I hate to steal ideas from people locally," Wideman says, noting that many Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers operate plants in the area and that even though they are competitors, Green County cheesemakers also are friends who help each other out when necessary and do things socially.

"I think it's important the way we support each other," he says.

Wideman believes in promoting specialty cheeses of the region. Currently, he's the president of the Wisconsin Specialty Cheese Institute, an organization he has been involved with since its inception. Wideman says if he can't make the cheese a customer is looking for, he may be able to help the customer find just the right cheesemaker.

But chances are good that Maple Leaf would be able to provide the cheese for which a new customer is looking. As a small cheese manufacturer — the company made a little less than 2.7 million pounds of cheese last year — Wideman has the ability to be constantly working on new ideas.

Yes, making so many different kinds of cheese can be challenging at times, but it's what keeps the company strong, Wideman says.

"It certainly keeps things interesting," he says. "It would be much nicer to come in and make one type of cheese a day. But I feel it's important to be diversified like we are."

Being diversified allows Maple Leaf to weather the peaks and valleys different products experience due to market conditions and consumer preference. Not everything works, he notes, and not all items grow into high-demand items. When there are lots of smaller items, it takes more of them to make the bottom line.

"People's needs and tastes change. We have to change with them," he adds.

Right now, for example, "hot" is in demand.

"People want hot — the hotter, the better," Wideman says, noting that the company's Habanero Jack has become a hit.

With so much diversity and growing demand, the small company's volume has had to grow with it — necessitating a 1994 move from the company's original location in Albany, Wis., to its present larger facility in Twin Grove. The move has allowed Maple Leaf to keep up with product demand and handle its own whey, he notes.

The move also is evidence of how much the co-op members care about the cheese company. Though the move came during a busy time of farming for the producers, many of them turned out to help Maple Leaf relocate.

The many awards Maple Leaf has received also are a group effort — regardless if there is one person's name on the award, he says. Wideman notes that Maple Leaf has three licensed cheesemakers. Besides himself, Paul Reigle, a cheesemaker for 18 years and Wideman's business partner, and Roger Larson, a second generation cheesemaker, are licensed cheesemakers at the facility.

The 25 producer member families also are key to Maple Leaf's cheese quality.

"They know they must provide high-quality milk," he says.

Besides making cheese with new flavor twists that starts from high quality milk, Maple Leaf also has other marketing tactics.

For example Maple Leaf makes some kosher products, some of which are exported to Israel. Even though it's a relatively small company, Wideman sees potential in the export market and has taken advantage of some of the activities of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, such as meeting with buyers visiting the United States from South America.

"We're looking at all markets. The way things are changing, you have to look at everything. We try to be forward-thinking," Wideman says.

Still, the majority of Maple Leaf's cheese is marketed domestically. Much of the cheese is sold at retail under Maple Leaf's own brand name, although Maple Leaf also has a large aging program for a West Coast customer and that cheese is sold under the store label.

"There's a growing market for good cheese in the West — they don't even want to buy commodity cheeses made out there," Wideman says.

Maple Leaf has distribution in the West, as well as throughout the East and in the Midwest.

Locally, Maple Leaf also markets cheese at its two stores — the company's longtime store in Juda, Wis., and the Maple Leaf Cheese & Chocolate Haus that Wideman and business partner Shirley Knox purchased in New Glarus, Wis., in 1999. In addition, Maple Leaf cheeses are featured at local restaurants in the area.

Much of the cheese is sporting a new label these days, too. Maple Leaf just finished a redesign of its labels that includes the "Master's Mark" that can only be used on cheeses made by Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers. Wideman was certified in Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses; thus, those cheeses can bear the mark.

His status as a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker was an important reason for the label redesign, as was an effort to update the nutritional information on the cheese.

Wideman says he is trying to get the most out of his Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker certification — not only is it mentioned on the new labels, it's also mentioned on his business card as well.

"I feel one of the biggest problems with the Master Cheesemaker Program is that a lot of people aren't aware of it. It's not just something you can achieve in a couple of years," he says, adding that when people realize the amount of dedication it takes to become a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker, they understand it reflects in the cheese.

"Our hope for the future is that consumers will see the Master's Mark as a sign of quality," he says.

CMN