Pubdate: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI) Copyright: 2008 Madison Newspapers, Inc. Contact: http://www.madison.com/wsj/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/506 Author: Nick Heynen Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana) CHEESEMAKER SCORES TENNESSEE DRUG CAVE When authorities auction off the confiscated property of formerly successful drug traffickers, it's usually jewelry, mansions, classic cars and swanky yachts. But one of the best deals at Tennessee's 15th Judicial District Drug Task Force auction last week was a bit unusual: a 500-foot-long cave 100 feet underground about 40 miles from Nashville, which until 2005 was used to house a multimillion-dollar operation featuring more than 1,000 hydroponically grown marijuana plants. It turns out that what's good for growing pot is also good for curing cheese, so a Wisconsin cheesemaker bought the cave for $285,000. The auction's winner, Fermo Jaeckle, co-owner and CEO of Monroe-based artisan cheese company Roth Kase USA, financed the buy with his own money and that of a few longtime business partners. "I kind of fell into this," chuckled Jaeckle. "It's one of those things where you say, 'Oh, it'd be great, what the heck, let's see if we can bid on this cave, it's got a great story,' and then when you get it you say, 'Oh, that's great, I got it, now what am I going to do with it?'" But even without a business plan for the cave, he and his partners consider it a steal. "It's cheap space," Jaeckle said, noting that the size of the interior - -- with two football-field-length rooms and ceilings as high as 20 feet - -- combined with the cave's naturally constant temperature and humidity and the absence of light make it an excellent choice for a large cheese curing operation. "We consider it to be about half-price," he said. A comparable above-ground structure could cost from $600,000 to $800,000 according to Jaeckle. The former cannabis cove also had offices, a kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms, according to a news release. Jaeckle's plan is to use local Tennessee sheep and goat milk, but not cow milk, to create specialty cheeses. Toward that end he has created a new company, Trousdale Holdings, and predicts the first batch of cave-aged cheese could see the light of day as soon as 2010. Although he plans to use Tennessee goat and sheep milk to produce his cave curds, the marketing and distribution of those products would be handled by Roth Kase's nationwide distribution network. "As our distribution grows, and that distribution and marketing is handled by Roth Kase, that will create new jobs," Jaeckle said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake