(upbeat rock music) - Welcome to "A Shot of Ag".

My name is Rob Sharkey.

I'm your host.

I'm a fifth generation farmer from just outside of Bradford, Illinois.

I started a podcast which led me to get on XM radio, which led me to a national TV show which led me to sitting right here.

But today's show is not about me.

Today we're going to talk with Trisha, Tessa Pacion.

How are you doing Tessa?

I'm great.

How are you doing today?

- Good.

- Are you, are you all relaxed over there?

- I am, I'm comfy - Okay.

Now, where are you from Tessa?

- I'm originally from the suburbs of Chicago, but right now we live in Fithian, Illinois.

- And where is Fithian, Illinois?

- It's between Champaign and Danville, just right in the middle - Is that Vermilion County?

- Yes.

- Are you proud that I knew that - I am, I am.

(Rob laughs) - Now.

I've had you on my radio show a couple of times because I find your story fascinating.

- Thank you.

- Tell people where you work.

- I work at Ludwig Farmstead Creamery, so I am the herdsman over at the dairy and my husband, Devin, and I we take care of all of the cows every day from milking them.

And then we also pack all the orders and everything in the creamery.

- Okay.

Are you a milkmaid?

Is that what they call it?

- Yes.

I am a fancy milkmaid.

- Really, I mean, is that offensive if people call you that?

- I don't think so, no.

- Well, if you're at a party, right, and someone comes up to you and says, "Hey, Tessa, what do you do for a living?"

What do you say?

- Say I hug cows every day.

- You hug cows every day.

- I do.

- Okay, and I think that's where my wife originally found you, it was on social media.

You do a lot of that.

And you do, you show yourself hugging cows and feeding cows graham crackers - Yes - and talking to them.

- Yeah, they're like my giant 2000 pound children.

- Yeah, I thought you were going to say dog, but no, - No (laughs) - you, you went with children.

- Yeah they're very needy.

- What I find fascinating in agriculture.

A lot of times, like most of the time if you're in ag, you grew up in ag.

- Mm-hmm.

- You, you did not.

- I did not no.

I grew up in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, Hickory Hills, but my uncle had a dairy farm in Wisconsin when I was growing up.

So I spent some of my summers there.

- So is that where you got like the bug to be involved in ag to be involved in milking?

- Yeah, cause there aren't many dairy farms in the suburbs of Chicago.

So I would be up there spending my summers there and it was great.

I loved everything about it.

- So tell me how it went.

You went to school?

- Mm-hmm.

- Which one?

I went to the university of Illinois and I majored in animal science.

- Oh, I thought you went to a real school.

- Oh, whatever.

(both laugh) - Animal science?

- Yes.

- Okay.

That for a city girl, right?

That's kind of unusual, were you kind of are a rarity there?

- No, there's a lot of people that want to work in animal science but particularly on the smaller animal side.

And I always wanted to do large animals, cows, pigs all that stuff.

- So the transition to the Ludwig Creamery, - Yes.

- what happened first?

Did you work there first or did you meet your husband first?

- I met my husband first so I was working at the University of Illinois dairy farm.

And I was also bartending in downtown Champaign.

That's how I met my husband, and - That sounds like there should be a story there.

(Tessa laughs) - There's probably a lot of stories there that we don't need to talk about, but I also was working at a pig farm and then I was like, you know what?

I'm going to pick up a fourth, - A pig farm?

- Yes, I did that too.

- You were going to school, you were bartending and you're working at a pig farm.

- Mm-Hmm Was this like the university's pig farm?

- No, it was a separate companies farm.

- Of course it was.

How did you just, go on Craigslist or how do you get working on a pig farm?

- A lot to do with like the pre vet club.

Cause originally I wanted to be a vet.

So you get a lot of opportunities through that - Pre vet club.

- Mm-Hmm - That sounds sounds wild.

- Yes, crazy.

- That's what you were originally thinking though.

You were going to go into the veterinarian?

- Yes.

- Yeah.

Okay.

So I interrupted you.

You were, we were, we met your husband when you were bartending and a story that you don't want to share with the class and that's we'll respect that.

- Thank you - So then what happens - Then I told him, "I think I'm going to pick up a fourth job and work at Ludwig Farms."

And he was like, "Are you serious?

You're taking another job?"

I was like, "Yeah, you know, it's going to be great.

We'll be fine."

And then I just never left.

That was in 2017.

And then we ended up, my husband Devin and I took over three years ago as managers.

- Okay.

And this, this drive for dairy.

That's what I mean, was there like something in your life you know, you talked about your, your uncle's dairy.

- Mm-hmm - Was it like one of those old PSA's do you remember those?

- Mm-mm.

What was a "Time for Timer"?

- No.

- Do you, you don't?

You don't, when I get home from school, (Tessa laughs) and I'm looking for something cool.

- Mm-mm.

- A hunker for a hank of cheese?

A hanker for a hunk of cheese?

- I was watching "TRL" after school when I was younger.

- My 10 gallon hat (Tessa laughs) is filling five gallons flat?

- No.

(laughs) - Hankering for a hunk of cheese.

- Nope.

- Okay, all right.

Right, when I'm dancing a hoedown and my boots are kind of slow down.

I'm hankering for a hunk of cheese.

- I wish I could help you.

I just, I can't.

- No it's fine.

Cause he's feeling weak in the knees.

You never saw that?

- Mm-mm - Please, mom, get me a damn piece of cheese.

- Cheese, I got that part.

- "Time for Timer", (Tessa laughs) maybe you should Google it.

- I will.

- It was a PSA.

It led a lot of children back in the seventies and eighties to eat cheese.

I think we should bring those back.

- Let's do it.

How old are you?

- 30.

- Oh for god sakes You know, somebody should have told me that somewhere that she was 30 years old.

Then we wouldn't have gone through the whole hunkering for a hank of cheese thing - Right over.

(Rob sighs) - I expect more from PBS.

But, but here we are.

Okay.

So you go to work for the creamery.

Now explain what a creamery is.

- So for us specifically, we're a farm side creamery.

So everything is done on the farm.

We don't bring any outside milk in.

All of our milk is held in a bulk tank, obviously.

And then it just pumps over about 250 feet over to the creamery.

- So it's all in one place.

- Mm-hmm.

- Cause usually, we think you got a dairy you're going to milk the cows.

The milk truck comes and you put it off and it goes to a Prairie Farms jug or whatever.

Not in your case.

- No.

- It all goes to this?

- Yes.

- What is this?

- This is our Kickapoo.

So it's around 12 to 15 pounds.

- Look at that, now it's impressive it looks like I should be pushing it down some ice and sweeping in front of it.

- You're just shoving it.

- Oh, is this 12 pounds?

Okay.

And that's what's on the outside.

- It's our green wax coating.

So we hand coat everything and wax.

Yeah, and yeah, it gets, these wheels (cheese wheel bangs) - This is a new desk, by the way.

(Tessa laughs) - Sturdy, very sturdy.

I mean, I'm going to break this thing if I messed with it.

- No, it's pretty...

If I, if I took it from here and dropped it on the floor?

- I've never tried.

- We'll move on.

(Tessa laughs) We'll move on.

But this is what you make.

- Yep.

- This is what amazes me.

So you have a cow at the creamery at your farm there you milk it and then it doesn't go anywhere.

But it leaves a farm in that form.

- Yes.

- That's pretty rare around here isn't it?

- Yeah.

There's only, I think three other farmstead creameries.

I might be wrong, in Illinois, so.

- Is yours the best?

- I think it's the best, but we're all great.

Let's just say it that way - Out of all the other creameries, which other one do you like the least?

- I can't say that.

- Okay, all right, (Tessa laughs) well we should have known about that question too.

I mean, is it because you don't want to say it, or you're afraid of some ramifications.

I've heard of a lot of bad blood, a lot of some things going wrong and the whole creamery things you guys are kind of like the mob - A little bit.

I mean, I think all creameries should be respected because everything, you know, we're doing something unique that not a lot of people get to do, so.

- When we had you on the radio show you sent us some cheese and as I'm eating your cheese I'm realizing the crap cheese that I've been eating before I ate said cheese, you ruined me.

- Sorry.

- I mean, I can no longer go to the grocery store and pick out cheese because it tastes like it was laying on the road for a while compared to what you do.

- Well thank you.

Why, why, why is this so good compared to what I get at the grocery store?

- Well it is a full fat cheese, most of them.

So we don't separate any of the rest of the fat out which I think is unique too.

So that's why ours is really great to cook with in my opinion.

But a lot of it, I think is just the care of the cows.

Just all translates into how great our cheese is.

- Really?

- I think so.

- Like that whole California cow thing?

I thought that was all just talk, happy cows.

- Mm-mm, they gotta be happy to produce milk.

- How do you make your cows happy?

- They get, well, they get pasture almost 365 days a year.

So that's different, when it's really cold, that's the only time that we don't let them out.

Cause we have to lock the whole barn down.

But other than that, they pretty much get to choose if they want to go in or out.

And they get grain when they're in the parlor being milked.

So they're pretty happy.

- So tell me about a cow, right?

Because I think a lot of people when you say that, they're going, "Well yeah, The cow is going to be outside frolicking all the time."

Is that the case?

Or do they like hanging out inside?

- Well today cause it's like 80 degrees.

They're all laying inside in their sand bedding with all their fans.

It kinda depends, they don't really like the rain.

So they'll come in if it's raining.

- Sand bedding?

- Yeah.

- Why?

- It's like they're at the beach, very comfortable.

- I mean, are you, are you messing with me?

- No, I'll send you a picture of it later.

- Where do you get sand in Vermilion County?

- We have a sand guy.

I don't know where he gets it, but we have a guy.

(Tessa laughs) - It's all making sense now.

We have a sand guy.

(both laugh) Tell me about Ludwig, the creamery and the history behind this thing.

- So we aren't Ludwig's we just manage the farm.

- Mm-hmm.

- It's a fifth generation family.

They had always been dairy farming in their whole life.

Our owner, Dave Ludwig, his son, Jake wanted to start a creamery after all of his dads show cows.

So they changed the whole, it was just an old hay barn and they completely remodeled it and turned it into a creamery.

Jake Ludwig went to the University of Illinois, real college, and majored in chemistry.

Then he went to go study to be a cheesemaker in Pennsylvania, had everything set up.

And a couple of days before he was set to start making cheese he was actually killed in a car accident.

Which is very tragic but we're here today.

- We'll stop.

Just cross right over that.

Because that, I couldn't imagine all that work and all that investment.

- Yeah.

- And it does go to show you, you know like when you invest in one person you're investing in the person and, and things can happen.

That had to be, that had to be heartbreaking.

- Yeah, I can't imagine, I don't have, - But this was all before you?

- Mm-Hmm.

- Okay, so then what happened?

- So then we were just shipping milk to Prairie Farms for a while.

And then we had a cheesemaker come in and kind of develop some recipes for us.

Cause Jake's favorite cheese was Havarti, so we have a whole line dedicated to him - It's a good cheese - Mm-hmm.

- It's a fine cheese.

- And we were just carrying out his dream now.

It's very sad he never got to see, you know, what he developed and designed turn into what we're doing now but we're still carrying out his dream.

So I think we're doing a pretty good job.

- So the, the family, it's still the Ludwig family?

- Mm-hmm - All right.

And how does that work?

I mean, because you know, I've met you and your husband.

You guys are so proud of that place.

- Yes.

- I mean, you give the impression like that place is part of you guys.

It's not like your employees there.

You're part of that place.

- Right, so I've been there just about six years now and Devin's been there three.

I love it, like every day I wake up at five and I am not upset to go to work.

I love going there.

And it's great.

- How many times do you milk a day?

- Twice?

- What are the times?

- 5:30 and 5:30, - 5:30 and 5:30.

It doesn't give you a whole lot of time to go playing around - Mm-mm - No, has that been okay?

- Yeah.

- I mean, that's what you wanted.

- Yeah.

- You're okay with that.

Because when you take on a job with livestock and agriculture, you're going to be there.

You aren't going to be able to do the vacations that a you know, a lazy grain guy like myself is going to do.

(Tessa laughs) I mean, they say you're kind of married to the farm if you have livestock.

- Yeah, no that's 100% true.

And that's kind of why I referred to them as my children because you got to feed them.

I give them baths.

I give them haircuts.

They're completely dependent on us, but - What?

You give them haircuts?

- Haircuts, yeah, we clip off all their hair in the summer just to kind of like shed their winter coat.

- You don't, (Tessa laughs) I don't really know if you're messing with me half the time.

- I'm not.

- You're giving them haircuts - I'm not.

- while they're standing on their beach, inside a building.

- Yeah, it's the life I'm telling you.

- All right, (both laugh) but it's mainly you two, - Yes.

- that are working on there.

So does it give you some say, of like you have this cheese and you go to the owners and say, "Hey I don't think this is Gouda enough."

- I know they respect a lot of what we say.

- Generally, when you were supposed to laugh - Gouda, I knew it was coming.

- Yeah, this is going swimmingly.

- Okay, Anyway.

So yes, you're unhappy with the product or you think you can make the product better.

I mean, do you have the freedom to do that?

- We do, a lot of our cheeses that we have, I think are great.

We don't, so Devin, I don't make the cheese.

We do the sales and everything else.

So all, most of the cheese making decisions we leave up to the cheesemaker.

Cause I don't, there's a lot more going on and chemistry in that than I understand.

- Do you remember the name of the cheesemaker that they hired?

- The original one?

- Yeah.

- Fons Smits - That's a fantastic name.

- Mm-hmm.

(Rob laughs) - It's a hard enough business as it is right, making cheese.

What happened during COVID, how'd that affect you?

- It was rough.

So a lot of our business was for restaurants.

- Mm-hmm - And then when they all shut down, that kind of killed about a little over half of our sales.

So we kind of transitioned to doing a lot of things online which, you know, UPS and FedEx and all of that was overwhelmed.

So that was kind of, - Yeah - not really working out either.

And then in the summer we have a perishable product.

So we need to usually do one or two day shipping which you try, you know, to believe what they say as much as possible at getting it there, but it doesn't always work out.

So we were having people pay a lot just to get the product to them cold because you don't want warm cheese - Do you ever put those preservatives just, you can do that.

Make them last forever, that Velveeta.

Literally you could put it here 12 years you come back.

That'd be fine.

- It'll stay right here.

You could just cut off a slice.

- Nope, no preservatives or any artificial color in our cheese.

- None?

- None.

- Okay, that's, I mean, that's great but that has to make it hard too because you're taking a perishable product and you're making a lot more perishable.

- Yeah.

- And that's, you do that because that's what your customers want.

- That, and you know, that's why it's so good.

Cause it doesn't have all those extra preservatives and everything and that, and we typically cut to order.

So we'll have a lot of these in our Kickapoo room just aging on the shelves, they get flipped.

Those wheels get flipped every three days.

And we have about 500 of them right now.

Not even half of them are ready.

- Yeah, you don't have to buy this big of a thing?

- No, so when someone orders, - Yeah - well that's when we'll cut them into one - How do they order?

- It depends, some distributors and restaurants will order whole wheels to put in like cheese counters and things like that.

But other people just order the cuts, So then, - So the average Joe six pack can get on your website and say, "Hey, I want a slice of Havarti."

- Mm-Hmm - Okay.

And what percent of the businesses is that do you think roughly?

- Our online sales?

- Yeah.

- Probably about 10%.

It's not, I try to really not push it as hard in the summer.

Cause I know extra ice packs, extra weight for shipping - Yeah.

- and people are paying more, it gets to be a lot.

- What do you want people to know about what you do?

- I think I just want people to know that, you know we're a humane certified farm, - Mm-hmm - which is great.

If you just follow me on Instagram you'll see how the cows are, babied.

They get to live in their sand and all of that.

And just everything is done on the farm.

We don't add any extra milk.

So we know exactly where our cheese is coming from.

We have all of our own hay.

So that is what we're, you know we know what we're feeding them.

We know how they're milking and we know how they're treated.

- What's your Instagram?

- ludwigfarms_tessa.

- And it's L U D W I G - S - Underscore, Oh Ludwigs?

- Oh, no Ludwig farms you're right, Ludwig farms.

- It's confusing enough, Tessa - Sorry.

- For me to read - Sorry.

(both laugh) - And Tessa is T E S S A.

- Correct.

- Okay, you are fun to follow - Thank you.

- on social media, because you'll do crazy stuff.

And your cows, I swear I've seen your cows laugh at you.

- They might, I wouldn't doubt it.

- I think anybody that watches your social media will agree with me that they are definitely laughing at you.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

You sure you're not a hankering for a hunk of cheese yet?

- No, I didn't memorize your song either.

- It's not my song.

(Tessa laughs) It was a PSA, I don't know.

Maybe you guys can play that at PSA from the 70s?

Yeah, it's some copywriting stuff I'm sure - Probably.

- RFD would have done it, but yeah, that's fine.

That's okay, no, no.

I don't want to get anybody in trouble.

You could Google it.

- I'll do that.

- It was a yeah, "Time for Timer".

That was his name.

- "Time for Timer".

- I'm not exactly sure what he was.

He was like a blob, but he had long skinny legs.

- Was it like a cartoon?

- Tessa.

- I'm sorry!

(both laugh) I don't know.

What's the plan?

You just going to keep doing this?

- Yeah.

- You plan on making this better?

- As much as we can, yeah.

- Because you are going to make the milk better and better milk makes better cheese.

- Yes.

- You truly believe that.

- Yeah.

- I believe it too.

- Thanks.

- I was just double checking.

- Testing me?

(both laugh) - You and your husband.

I mean, did you guys milk this morning and then come?

- Mm-hmm.

- Really?

So you have to really plan out your day.

- Yeah.

- So you've gotta be back in time to milk again.

Do you have anybody that can like take over for you?

- Yeah.

Dave Ludwig, he'll milk for us.

And we also have one part-time employee and an intern that will give us some days off.

- Do you have to pay the interns.

- We pay, not the intern, the part-time employee, we do.

- That's fantastic.

- Yes.

- I wouldn't pay them either.

(both laugh) - I'm really excited that you could come on the show because like I've interviewed you.

- Mm-hmm.

- I know your story.

And I know like locally, it's cool to see something like this in Illinois.

Because when we see something, that we're thinking about those guys in Wisconsin - Who are they?

- I know!

- Just, man.

- I'm so sick of them getting all the credit - I know!

- for the good cheese and stuff.

You ever stopped by one of their like little shacks that sells cheese curds and fireworks?

- Yes.

- You might as well eat the fireworks but your cheese curds, your cheese curds.

They, are fantastic.

- They're tasty.

- [Both] Yeah.

- So again, where can people go, it's your website, right?

- Our Website, yes.

- Which is?

- ludwigfarmsteadcreamery.com.

- Okay.

It's really good.

It's I mean, I'm not just sitting there, because I'm not getting paid.

I should be.

(Tessa laughs) That's the whole thing with PBS.

I don't know what it is, - You know, that's fine.

- but yes, it is.

It was a, some of the best cheese that I've ever eaten.

- Thank you.

- And I'm not necessarily a guy that would say, "Hey, you know cheese is cheese."

- Go get this cheese.

- Yeah, cheeses.

I used to put a Velveeta cheese on my apple pie.

- What?

- I would still do it, but my wife is she doesn't, - I don't get that.

- she won't make it.

She won't make Apple pie if I'm going to put Velveeta - Like you melt it on top?

- No, Tessa - I don't know.

- No, you just take a slice of it and you put it on.

- What about ice cream instead?

- Well I mean ice cream is a fine product and that, but my dad used to say a piece of apple pie without Velveeta cheese is like a hug without a squeeze.

- Well, I guess I'll have to try it.

- So you're admitting here in front of the dozens of people watching that you're going to try?

- I'll try it.

- Velveeta.

- Just for you.

(both laugh) If you go into the grocery store, somebody's going to take a picture of you, - Singly buying Velveeta.

- Buying Velveeta.

Yeah, Okay.

So when I had you on the radio show we talked about a certain, I asked you which cow you dislike the most - Mm-hmm - and you didn't answer at first but then eventually it came out - Yes.

- and it was Eatsalot.

- Uh-huh.

We sold her.

- Is it because of the show?

- No, I just, she wasn't.

We are primarily a show cow farm.

So she just kinda didn't make the cut pretty-wise.

- She didn't make the cut?

- Yeah.

- Were you sad to see Eatsalot go?

- No.

- How come she got that name again?

- She ate a lot when she was a calf.

- Real original.

- Yeah.

- Who names these cows?

- Our vet owns a little over half of the cows that we have too.

He's in a partnership with Dave Ludwig, our owner.

So I think his daughter might've named her.

Maybe he did, - Well now we can't make fun.

- We'll just say he did it.

(Rob laughs) He totally did it.

(both laugh) - And now, okay, with Eatsalot gone which cow now, when you go back to the farm and you see this cow do you go (sighs)?

- Fancy.

- Fancy, - Yeah.

- Fancy is not doing it for you?

- No.

Okay.

Do you think next time we talk that a Fancy will have left the farm?

- She might, we have a couple coming in after her that are pretty, so she might, - How many, - live happily on another farm - How many you do milk a day?

- Right now we're only milking, just about 12.

It's our slow season.

And then we calve around the show dates.

So we have just under seven due the first week of June and then we'll have like 10 more due for September.

- So when you milk, do you milk by yourself or is it both you and your husband?

- It's just me, we only milk six at a time.

So it's easier just by myself.

- So yeah, what's he doing?

- That's a good question.

- That is a good question.

(both laugh) I didn't know you milked yourself.

That's all you?

- Yeah.

- One woman show.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

And the interns not there?

- They're there about three ish days a week right now.

Not that many days.

- All right.

- They were there this morning.

- That's what I'm saying.

Why didn't you have them do it this morning and you guys could have slept, then drove here to Peoria.

I can't sleep in anymore.

If you, if tomorrow the cows were gone, would you still wake up at 5:00?

- Probably, if not, I go back to bed and wake up at six.

I can't sleep in.

- Really, what time do you go to bed?

- Like 11, kinda late.

- How do you function?

- I don't know, - Do you take a nap?

- Sometimes, if it's raining.

Yeah, That's a good nap day.

- Okay.

- Easy.

- And this is, would you say this is your dream?

- Yes.

I've always wanted to work with cows.

Devin, my husband didn't have any experience with cows before he met me.

- Mm-hmm - So it's been fun.

- You kind of roped him into it didn't you?

- Yeah, I didn't really give him a choice.

(both laugh) - What's his job?

- So he is with me on that, I wouldn't be able to do the farm without him.

So he does most of, almost all of all like the feeding and scraping and all the equipment driving but he's in charge of all the sales at the creamery.

- Okay, which that's important?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

All right, Tessa Pacion.

Again, where is your Instagram?

- It's at ludwigfarms_tessa.

- Okay, Is that mainly where people can find you on the old social media?

- Yes.

- Okay.

Do you have any funny ones in, in the hopper ready to go?

- To post?

- Yeah.

- I don't, I think one of me feeding a cow, a donut.

- Okay, well maybe we can do a little bit better now.

(Tessa laughs) Tessa I want to thank you for coming on the show.

I really appreciate it.

- Of Course.

- I love what you're doing.

- Thank you.

- I love your passion.

I love your social media.

It's fantastic.

- Thank you.

- So thank you very, very much for being on "A Shot of Ag" and to everybody else.

We'll catch you next week.

(heavy guitar music)