In brief

Rogue Creamery wins award

Move over Wisconsin: Cheeses from California and Oregon are taking over.

Rogue Creamery of Central Point, Ore., won "Best of Show" for its Rogue River Blue at the 25th annual American Cheese Society Judging and Competition, held earlier this month in Austin, Texas.

Cowgirl Creamery of Point Reyes Station, Calif., won second with its Red Hawk cheese. Red Hawk is a triple-cream organic cheese made from cow milk.

Rogue River Blue is a raw cow milk cheese based on a recipe the creamery's founder brought back from Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, France. It is wrapped in Syrah grape leaves from a local vineyard that have been macerated in a pear brandy made from locally picked pears. The cheese is aged for more than a year in Southern Oregon caves.

Rogue Creamery also won awards for several other cheeses. In all, several cheeses from California, Oregon and Washington were among 314 winners.

Wisconsin scored the most ribbons with 92. California came second with 45. Vermont captured the third-most ribbons with 32.

Multiple ribbon winners among California creameries include Marin French Cheese Co., Cypress Grove Chevre, Rumiano Cheese Co., Meyenberg Goat Milk Products, Winchester Cheese Co., Karoun Dairies, Arthur Schuman and Mozzarella Fresca.

Oregon ribbon winners include Tillamook County Creamery Association, Tumalo Farms, Willamette Valley Cheese, Rivers Edge Chevre, Ancient Heritage Dairy and Rising Sun Farms.

Washington winners include Beecher's Handmade Cheese and Estrella Family Creamery.

-- Mitch Lies

Judge approves Humboldt sale

EUREKA, Calif. (AP) -- Foster Farms Dairy is moving forward with its purchase of Humboldt Creamery now that a bankruptcy judge has approved terms of the sale.

A spokeswoman for the Modesto-based company said Friday, Aug. 14, that the sale -- reportedly for nearly $20 million -- includes Humboldt Creamery's Fernbridge processing plant and a frozen distribution center in Stockton.

Operating under the Crystal brand, Foster Farms Dairy is the biggest private dairy in California.

The purchase of the 80-year-old dairy cooperative positions Foster Farms Dairy as a major player in the organic milk market.

Humboldt Creamery discovered financial problems when longtime CEO Rich Ghilarducci abruptly resigned last year. The FBI is investigating.

The federal bankruptcy court in Santa Rosa has set Aug. 26 as the closing date.

Dung power pact OK'd

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Cargill Inc. has gotten the green light from the state Public Utilities Commission for a plan to supply Idaho Power Co. with 2.13 megawatts of electricity from the Minneapolis-based agricultural conglomerate's poop-to-power plant near Jerome.

Cargill's cow manure digester at the 10,000-cow Bettencourt Dairy in Hansen in Southern Idaho is scheduled to begin operation on Sept. 1.

Cargill spent about $8.5 million to build the 2.25-megawatt digester and generator facility.

Cargill has said it's exploring similar endeavors in neighboring Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, California, Texas, New York and Indiana.

After the Idaho project has proven itself "for a reasonable amount of time," Idaho Power said, it expects the two companies will enter into a long-term energy sales agreement.