Iowa All Over: Newton is for cheese lovers

NEWTON - Off Interstate 80, in central Iowa, Newton is heaven for many cheese lovers across the state.

Since 1941, Maytag Dairy Farms has been producing its tangy, crumbly, signature-veined blue cheese just outside Newton, in Jasper County.

The dairy barns, cheesemaking plant and retail shop are situated on 600 acres of land. Through big windows throughout the building, visitors and staff can see acres of green.

'You can tell by just looking at it that our farm is sparsely farmed,” said Myrna Ver Ploeg, president of Maytag Dairy Farms. 'There's a lot of grass, there's a lot of waterways, there's a lot of timber. We keep trees in all the waterways.”

Inside the facility, visitors can see employees hand-cutting and packaging the cheese wedges and wheels in crisp silver wrapping.

But off limits to the public and just down the hill are the dairy barns where the cheese is made.

It's produced in small batches using sweet milk from Iowa dairy farms, according to the company.

Watching the cheese being made can be a mesmerizing process. Cheesemakers scoop the curds into the cheesecloth for draining, then put into stainless steel hoops. They then are sprinkled with blue mold, according to the company on its website.

The most aromatic part of the process is a giant underground 'cave” where wheels of cheese ripen.

What sets the Maytag Dairy Farms's cheese apart is the individual attention to detail and intricate process, Ver Ploeg said.

Plant manager Robert Wadzinski, who has been making cheese since he was 12 years old, said he has discovered many Newton residents have connections to the Dairy Farms - either they worked there or they have a relative who has.

'We're doing the same process now as we did 74 years ago,” Wadzinski said. 'It's a unique setting, it's beautiful out here, it's not the hustle and bustle of a large city. It's just nice and peaceful and tranquil, and you just feel comfortable being out here.”

Ver Ploeg, the Dairy Farms's president, said the company plants popcorn corn on three acres and gives it to local charities.

'We're just continually engaged (in charities) throughout the year,” she said. 'When you're in a small town, when you're in a small community, everybody's involved in everything.”

Racing lovers will know Newton as the home of the Iowa Speedway. The racetrack hosts races from May to August.

NASCAR purchased the facility in 2013, according to iowaspeedway.com.

More on Newton

Newton, in Jasper County, has a population of 15,136, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2013 estimate. The town was established as Newton City in 1846, and in 1847 'City” was dropped from its name, according to the city's website. Newton was once home to the Maytag Corp. - the plant closed in 2007 - earning it the nickname of the 'Washing Machine Capital of the World.”