Darlene Hooley: “imagine a land where cows outnumber the people two to one, where the high school football team is aptly named the…”

“imagine a land where cows outnumber the people two to one, where the high school football team is aptly named the Cheesemakers, and where world famous cheddar cheese is produced by a cooperative of dairy farmers, many who have passed that skill on from generation to generation. Such a place exists in a small Oregon coastal county named Tillamook. This 35,000 acre region is peppered with approximately 150 family farms that supply fresh milk to the Tillamook County Creamery Association, which in turn produces award-winning Tillamook cheese. It also markets butter, sour cream, yogurt, and ice cream. It was founded in 1909. The Tillamook County Creamery accounts for one-third of Oregon's dairy industry. Swiss settlers looking for an ideal location to raise dairy cattle discovered Tillamook in 1851. The name Tillamook is a native American name meaning land of many rivers, which is especially appropriate since five rivers feed into the Tillamook Bay. The region's climate is cool and wet, averaging 80 inches of rain annually, but it is this unique environment that allows cows to graze at least 8 months each year on natural grass in open pastures, resulting in exceptionally sweet and rich milk, the cornerstone of Tillamook cheese. Superior milk, combined with Tillamook's unique cheese culture recipe, traditional cheddaring method, and natural aging process, enables the Tillamook County Creamery to guaranty its benchmark standards for its award-winning premium cheese.”