MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University will produce about 300,000 pounds of cheese in 2001, but the cupboard will be bare after Christmas, the big buying time of the year.

The Edward W. Custer Dairy Processing Plant is best known for making 3-pound, red wax-coated cannonballs of Edam cheese stamped with the MSU logo. Each year, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station plant produces 55,000 of these signature products, along with another 2,000 reduced-fat versions of the same.

But there are several other products in MSU's fine cheese line. Cheddar is a popular item, and the plant makes 46,000 2-pound blocks of this cheese. Additionally, the dairy plant makes 8,000 2-pound wheels of vallagret, 7,500 2-pound jalapeno pepper blocks, 3,500 20-ounce jalapeno pepper spreads and 3,500 20-ounce cheddar spreads.

"We're pretty much operating at 100 percent capacity," said David Hall, dairy plant manager. "It would be real difficult for us to increase production much more without some massive equipment changes and expansion."

All the cheese is made with Mississippi State milk, produced mostly at the university's dairy farm in Sessums operated by the Animal and Dairy Science Department. When this summer's heat slowed milk production, the dairy plant supplement their milk supply from MSU's dairy at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Newton.

"We produce cheese year-round, five days a week with the exception of the two weeks we're out for Christmas," Hall said. "We sell cheese all year, but about 90 percent of our sales are at Christmas."

Cheese must be aged to achieve the proper flavor, and Hall said the dairy plant never sells any cheese less than 3 months old. The huge demand at year-end means the production and storage schedule is extremely important the rest of the year.

"We try to give our cheddar more time to age, so we make it first, then we make our Edam," Hall said. "We finished making Edam for Christmas at the end of August. What we're making now is for Easter sales."

Cheese-fans within shopping distance of Starkville can buy the products year-round, but the rest of the country has to wait for cool weather when the cheese can be shipped. Cheese is shipped from November through mid-December, and from the end of March through April.

Ordering deadlines are Nov. 1 for Christmas delivery and March 15 for Easter. For prices and more information about the cheeses, visit the MAFES Sales Store online at http://www.msucheese.com

For more information, contact: David Hall, (662) 325-2484