Go.Coop

It goes without saying that the company that makes one of the world's best naturally aged cheddars would have undergone some aging of its own.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the cost of farming was low, and most farmers produced far more milk than they could market. So in 1919, farmers from the Cabot area joined forces to turn their excess milk into butter and market it throughout New England. Ninety-four farmers joined in and together they purchased the village creamery (built in 1893). They soon began producing butter under the Rosedale brand name.

The nation's population flocked to urban areas over the next few decades, though Cabot's farmer-owners thrived by shipping their milk and butter south. Membership peaked at 600 farm families in the 1960s, then steadily declined into the 1980s. By this time, Cabot had dropped the Rosedale name and was marketing high-quality cheeses and butter under the Cabot brand. The company also began entering its cheddar in national competitions and in 1989 took first place in the cheddar category at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest held in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

1992 was a pivotal year in the company's history as Cabot's farmer-owners merged with the 1,800 farm families of Agri-Mark, a southern New England co-op dating back to 1918.

Neal Rea's grandfather was a dairy farmer in those early days. In fact, dairy cooperatives have defined Neal's heritage since he was old enough to milk cows. He remembers when his father and other cooperative neighbors got together and talked about marketing their milk. "The cooperative leaders in our community had a strong commitment to co-ops and they were respected leaders locally," he recalled. "Being involved always seemed like the right thing to do."

So over the years, Neal came to realize that cooperative strength is far better than an individual farmer battling it out for himself. "Growing up, I always felt co-ops were a good thing, designed to help people."

He feels the same way today about Agri-Mark. "Our cooperative is always working for us, helping us accomplish together what we cannot do individually."

Learn more about Cabot Creamery at www.cabotcheese.com and www.agrimark.net.