When LeRoy Shatto started Shatto Milk Co. in 2003, he says he never imagined how quickly his business would grow. The Osborn, Mo., dairy farmer managed to not only save his family's farm, but to expand it - exponentially.

"We went from 80 cows up to almost 300 cows," he says. "And I got four more calls from people yesterday wanting to carry my milk. It's just been unbelievable, just unbelievable."

Now his company is putting a tentative hoof into the world of cheese. Shatto already has expanded its milk product line to include butter and ice cream, so cheese seemed like a logical step.

According to the Midwest Dairy Association, more than 10 pounds of milk go into one pound of cheese, which helps Mr. Shatto with one of his biggest problems. He says people have been asking him to make cheese for years, but it was a milk surplus that made him take a serious look at it.

"We were getting ready to make some eggnog, so in July I got some more cows that were going to be eggnog cows, but until the eggnog really gets to going, I had too much milk," he says. "We can always make cheese. I don't have to worry about it going into the bottle and pushing it into the stores to get it out of the way, because the cheese, the older it gets, the better it is. We don't have to worry about shelf life, and if I didn't have anything to do with this stuff, I might have to pour it down the drain."

The product expansion means a building expansion on the farm. They're putting up a new structure with room for making cheese, butter and ice cream. It will give them extra storage and will have a special treat for visitors.

"We're going to have glass all around it so people can come and watch us make cheese any time they want to," he says. "We're going to be making a lot of cheese, the way it looks."

Wheels of gouda, havarti and cheddar just hit the shelves a few weeks ago at some Kansas City specialty stores, but Mr. Shatto says early response has been great. He says if things keep going this well, he should be able to expand into the St. Joseph market soon.

"This cheese, I think, is going to be big," he says. "People are going nuts over this stuff."

Lifestyles reporter Tamara Clymer can be reached at tami.clymer@npgco.com.