Jeremy Wipf says Spink Colony has a long dairy history, as evidenced by an antique milk can that is on exhibit at the new cheese factory.

Spink’s Cheese Makers

By Bernie Hunhoff

When milk prices soured in 2018, members of the Spink Hutterite Colony considered selling their dairy cows. Then someone offered a better idea. Why not start a cheese factory?

Now their Kasemeister cheeses (pronounced Kay-sah-meister) are sold in 140 stores throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota, and the colony’s cows are as happy as ever.

“The most popular sellers are cheddar, gouda, baby Swiss and Colby,” says Jeremy Wipf, who manages the cheese factory with help from four full-timers and a dozen part-timers. They work in a gleaming, state-of-the-art stainless-steel plant designed with the help of consultants. However, cheese-making is not entirely new to the Hutterite families; for generations, they’ve made pane cheese, using recipes that date back to their European roots.

Though most of the cheeses are sold in stores, the colony also established a small gift shop in the front of the factory. The shelves and coolers feature jams, honey, pickles, canned goods, chicken pot pies and all the cheese varieties. The shopkeepers sell a few cold beverages and offer free samples of the cheeses, including a rich and crumbly white cheddar “Special Reserve” that is aged for four years.

The cheese factory is located just east of the colony farm, across a field from the happy cows, at 39685 182nd Street. It is about 30 miles northwest of Huron, or 9 miles south of Frankfort.

Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the September/October 2023 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call (800) 456-5117.