Fayette County Dairy Makes The Best Yogurt In The Country

In 2002, a Michigan family moved to Hawkeye, Iowa to pursue their dream of starting a dairy farm. Today, they have not only achieved that dream but they are also recognized nationally for their work in the industry.

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Since 1981, the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association has hosted a biennial contest where the best cheese, butter, and yogurt makers compete for the champion title. People came from all over to compete in the 21^st United States Championship Cheese Contest, and among them was Dave & Carolee Rapson of Country View Dairy from Hawkeye.

At the Championship Cheese Contest, Country View Dairy took home the top prize for their yogurt.

The Dairy’s Strawberry Farmstead Cream-Top 1% Yogurt was ranked Best of Class in the Lowfat Yogurt, Cow’s Milk division out of 92 entries with a rating of 99.25 out of 100. Cabot Creamery in Vermont placed second and Klondike Cheese Co. in Wisconsin placed third in the same category.

Country View Dairy also placed fourth in the Yogurt, Cow’s Milk category. Narragansett Creamery from Rhode Island placed first while Central Valley Cheese from California took home the second and third place rankings in the category.

After years in the dairy business, Rapsons started looking for ways to expand their operation.  According to their website “after discovering that there weren’t any other yogurt producers in Northeast Iowa and that there was a demand in our community for local, healthy, all-natural, cultured foods (like yogurt), we decided to pursue the unique art of making yogurt on a larger scale as well.”

Their yogurt can be found in retail locations across Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan, and South Dakota.