15 Minutes with a Farmer: Marcoot Jersey Creamery

Seven generations of Marcoot family members have milked Jersey cows on their farm in Greenville, Illinois, northeast of St. Louis. But sisters Amy and Beth, along with their partner and childhood friend, Audie Wall, transformed the family operation into a creamery. 

When they set off for college, neither Amy nor Beth planned to come home to the family farm. However, in 2007, their parents were ready to retire, and the conversation turned to their return to the farm and adding value to its milk. 

They created their first cheese wheel in 2010. Today, these three entrepreneurs produce 20 types of cheese from the milk of 80 Jersey cows, and host school and community groups for farm tours.

Successful Farming: What made you decide to make cheese? 

Amy Marcoot: When my parents started talking about selling the farm, we weren’t ready to see that go, and we started thinking what we can do to keep it and make it sustainable. The aging process of cheese allowed us to transition in a sustainable way, while building and developing a market. It’s also a tribute to our Swiss heritage.

SF: Tell me about how and why you age all your cheese in an underground cave. 

Beth Marcoot: Our cheese cave is modeled after man-made Swiss cheese caves. Cheese can build up ammonia, and fresh, cool air is always coming in, so it mimics a natural cave. In some of our cheese, you can taste more earthy notes because it’s aged in an underground cave.

SF: What is Extreme Ice and how did you come up with it?

Audie Wall: We wanted to upcycle the whey that comes from our cheese. And we started playing around with different ices and ice cream, and eventually made Extreme Ice. Extreme Ice is a frozen treat that combines whey with crushed fruit, creating a product that has the fresh flavor and texture of Italian ice. But each 5-ounce cup has 20 grams of protein, so it makes a really healthy snack.

SF: What are some other products you offer? 

AW: We also developed our Dog-O’s line, which is our cheese treat for dogs. We make them in the shape of a circle with a hole because it creates a [Life Saver-type shape]. So, if a dog would ever swallow it whole, which is our worst fear, they could still breathe until a person could get it out. 

We had customers ask us if they could feed Extreme Ice to their dogs. And so we put Extreme Ice in a smaller cup and we call that Ice Ice Doggy. It’s sold in about 500 Pet Supply Plus stores.

BM: We have a Jersey Wagyu cross that we sell for beef to diversify our offering. We also do farm tours. Last year, we started a nonprofit for ag education called Back to the Farm, and bought a monster truck called the Big Cheese. We offer riding tours in our pasture to be as experiential as possible. The highlight is, we do a cheese tasting in the middle of the pasture.

SF: What are challenges you have faced? 

AM: It wasn’t just milking cows and making a product; you also must market and sell it. We didn’t have a playbook. There were more things that didn’t work than did those first few years. And still, even today those things happen. 

Also, learning to communicate differently as a family. It’s much different when you come back and run the farm. And similarly, when not to communicate. For example, Christmas is not the time to talk about which bull we’re going to breed. Just celebrate Christmas! 

BM: Things always change, and when that happens, we must figure out a different way. I think we’ve developed a stronger form of grit, with some grated cheese on top.