Webb Dairy, now Rocking W Cheese and Milk, just off of HWY 348 west of Olathe, Colorado has been around for over 60 years. The family ran business has weathered its share of tough times in the dairy industry.
"About eighteen years ago, we ventured off and decided to produce cheese. So, at this time, we are mainly producing cheese. There's seven generations of farming out here. We have our own cows, our own milk, and we produce roughly twenty nine different varieties of cheeses and fresh milk. Every Monday, we bottle and we go from there," said John Gibson, son-in-law to the late Robert Webb who started the dairy.
Travelers on Hwy 348 are greeted by a bright yellow sign that contrasts with the 'barn red' store complete with it's own drive thru service. Shoppers will find milk, cheese, ice cream and other locally produced jams, preservers and more in the brightly lit space.
" Well, what we have here is this is just our little store. We retail from our store, and then we have roughly twenty five to ninety vendors, depending on seasonal and non-seasonal," said Gibson, who participated in the Olathe Farm Tours hosted by Valley Food Partnership during the Montrose County Fair week in July.
"We are part of this Valley Food Partnership, and today is just one of our lucky days that we have some members coming by and we're going to give them a little tour today and show them what we do, so everyone is a little more educated on what we do in this fine valley," said Gibson as customers streamed into the store for their soft serve ice cream and to pick up fresh milk.
Times have changed for the family dairy that once milked around seven hundred head of cattle to supply fresh Colorado produced milk to larger retailers.
"We reduced (the number of milking cows) due to the economics of dairying on the Western Slope. So right now I have a eighty head of mother cows and producing cows here. And we just pamper them and they produce enough milk to fortify our cheese and milk operation," Gibson said. "We used to be with DFA, Dairy Farmers of America. But like I said, economics and all that. We reduced our size."
Gibson had plans to show nearly 30 farm tour guests how they manufacture their cheese, however, the tour was running behind and the visit was cut short. But not to worry, the smiling dairy farmer was just proud to see his guests enjoying Rocking W Cheese ice cream before heading back to the Montrose County Event Center.
NOTE: Robert “Bob” Leroy Webb, founder of Webb Dairy, passed away on August 9, 2025, at the age of 86.