Cheese Makes Us Smile

by

The winding country roads of Barren County take drivers past peaceful farmland and charming homes, where residents sit on their porches and wave hello to passing cars. The welcoming feel and scenic pastures project a sense of calm to everyone—even the cattle grazing there.

The 100 or so milk cows at Mattingly Farms in Austin have got it pretty good. They live pleasant lives hanging out in a state-of-the-art, well-ventilated barn, where they dine on a diet of fermented alfalfa hay whenever they are hungry. Every day, they are turned out to the fields and soak up the sunshine while eating all the grass they want. Then, these pampered girls, most the color of Oreo cookies, are milked whenever they want. These Mattingly cows call the shots. At this farm, the ages-old habit of milking at sunrise and sunset doesn’t exist. Instead, the cows get milked when they feel it is time.   

The Mattingly family wasn’t always knee deep, so to speak, in cattle. Kenny Sr. was a salesman by trade, but he had a bit of previous experience in raising calves. In 1976, he took a leap of faith, bought a 200-acre farm in Austin, and moved the family from Indianapolis.

“The passion for farming was brewing in him since high school,” said 64-year-old Kenny Mattingly Jr. “We just followed his lead.”

The original farm had about 40 cows, and Kenny Jr., fresh out of high school, was ready to move to Kentucky for a new adventure. “It was a crash course in milking cows,” he said, “but I found out that I liked to work outdoors and with animals. It is very therapeutic.”

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As the years passed, the farm was producing milk, but—like many other farms—it sometimes struggled. The farming crisis in the 1990s led the Mattingly family to look beyond what they were doing. In 1998, Kenny Jr. visited cheese-making operations in Europe and saw the possibilities of what could be done back in Kentucky.

The family also wanted to make the milk produced at the farm better, and to that end, they closed the herd—meaning that all the cows in the herd are born on the farm and grow up there. Then, the Mattinglys began using artificial insemination to ensure genetic quality. Finally, they became more confident and secure about the cows’ feed when they began to grow most of it themselves. “Our cows get grass, sunshine and exercise,” Kenny said, “but never any hormones.”

This good nutrition and improved care led to longer lives and a larger milk output. Kenny said that the national average lifespan of a cow is 3½ years. The cows at the Mattingly Farm live about 6 years.

Not only did the Mattinglys realize the milk was getting better, they also found that really good milk makes really good cheese. In 1998, they made their first cheese, Gouda, and that year made 4,000 pounds.

As the cheese grew in popularity, the Mattinglys discovered they needed to increase their milk production. “At that time, the model for growing a dairy farming business was to milk more cows with cheaper labor,” Kenny said.

Around 2015, Kenny investigated a relatively new technique of robotic milking to increase milk production. The investment in this technology cost more than $200,000 and seemed to be a long-off dream. At that same time, a storm tore through the area and took out the farm’s barn. One cow was killed, but the Mattinglys realized the damage could have been much worse. With the help of neighbors, they were able to make do, and, as they finalized plans for rebuilding, they invested in robotic milking.  

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Today, Mattingly Farms has two robotic milkers. The process is efficient and straightforward:

When the cow feels she needs to be milked, she enters a one-way gated area where she is fed nutrients she wants and needs.

While she is eating, a camera from underneath her senses and locates the full teats, which are then washed and the suction cups attached to begin milking.

Once the process is completed, the cups come off automatically and are cleaned at the same time the teats are sprayed with disinfectant.

The gate near the cow’s head opens, and she leaves the area just as the back gate opens to let in the next girl in line.

“The milkers paid for themselves,” Kenny said. “The cow produces up to 25 percent more milk, and labor costs went way down.”

Another advantage to robotic milking is that the milker runs around the clock. Studies indicate that, when cows are able to decide when to be milked, their stress levels go down, thus enabling them to produce more milk.

The Cheese

The Mattinglys now produce around 100,000 pounds of cheese per year. They make about 27 varieties, with white cheddar being the most popular. Beverly Mattingly, Kenny’s wife of 30 years and co-owner of the business, credits the success of the cheesemaking operation to so many restaurants across the country buying it in large blocks. “A lot of restaurants mention that they serve Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese right on their menu,” she said. “Of course, we love that.”

In addition to common, but equally delicious, varieties like Colby and Monterey Jack, the farm makes eight signature cheeses. These are named for family members and include Kenny’s favorite, the St. Jerome—named for Kenny Jerome Mattingly Sr., who passed away in 2009. The Kentucky Rose honors Kenny’s mother, Rose. A cheese called Norwood pays tribute to a longtime employee, Dick Norwood, who worked as an administrator in the early days of the business.

“Back then, Kenny was making all the cheese himself and was the only one who knew how to make each one,” Beverly said. “Dick got all the recipes out of Kenny’s head and onto paper, so others could make it, too.”

The cheese is sold across the country through distributors as well as through Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese online and the store on the farm property.  

A Farm Visit

Agritourism and the increase in consumers’ interest in where their food comes from have prompted people from all over the world to visit the farm. The Mattinglys responded by making the entire farm welcoming as well as educational. In the back of the cheese shop, visitors can watch the art of cheesemaking through windows. The raw milk is brought in through a pipe from a holding tank in the barn just a few yards away. Across the hall from the kitchen are more windows through which visitors view the cheese being cut and prepared for waxing, aging or shipping.  

Outside, precious calves with wide eyes and long lashes spend their first few weeks on a pasture dotted with small white plastic igloo-like structures. Although these huts are fenced off for the babies’ protection, visitors can peek inside and say hello.

An enormous open-air barn next door has windows alongside the robotic milkers, so visitors can watch the milking process from start to finish. An enclosed balcony on the second floor offers a view of the cows relaxing in the barn.

The length of the open-air barn is open for visitors to watch the girls socialize, chew their cud, swish away flies with their tails, eat their dinner, and line up for their turn to be milked.

For visitors who really want a taste of farm living, the Mattinglys offer two apartments on the second floor of the barn for overnight stays. Available through Airbnb, the lodging includes up-close visits with the cows as well as a refrigerator stocked with samples of the cheeses made at the farm.

IF YOU GO:

Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese

2033 Thomerson Park Road Austin, Kentucky

270.434.4124, kennyscheese.com

Open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.