Cheese War

Tillamook County, Oregon, endured a bitter internal conflict during the 1960s. Dairy production was moving away from small local factories toward fewer, larger consolidated plants, while profits from milk and cheese were shrinking. Local farmers, squeezed by this financial strain, became caught up in a series of disputes that spread across the region. The conflict known as the Cheese War involved deception, covert surveillance, a physical confrontation, and a threat against a person's life.

Beale Dixon, who led the Tillamook County Creamery Association, devised a plan to extend low-interest loans with minimal security, funded by Tillamook Cheese & Dairy Association, the largest member cooperative within the creamery association, to the grocery chains that carried Tillamook products. He presented the arrangement as an inexpensive, straightforward way to keep retailers well-disposed toward the brand and ordering product at a time when sales were hard to come by. Opposing him was George Milne, a well-regarded farmer and president of the cooperative's board. Milne backed the board's ruling that such loans required board approval and bank oversight. Dixon largely disregarded these conditions. As more financial irregularities came to light, the matter grew into a community-wide fight, deepened by tangled family and business ties.

The dispute ran for most of a decade, playing out in board rooms, courtrooms, and throughout the local community. Although few people beyond Tillamook County know about it, the feud split some families so deeply that the rifts persist today. Sisters Marilyn Milne and Linda Kirk grew up in the middle of it and watched how it consumed their parents. As adults, they set out to understand what had happened. The authors spent years researching the events and blended their findings with recollections of growing up on a farm during the struggle.

Interest in food supply chains and ethical consumption has grown across the United States, and this book offers readers a look at the human side of events behind one of Oregon's most recognizable brands.