For a raw milk cheesemaker, the quality and integrity of the milk is essential. As a farmstead cheesemaker we have the luxury of controlling every step of the process.
Our milking parlor is a swing twelve -- twelve cows on each side and a row of milkers down the middle, milkers "swung" from a milked cow to a unmilked one as quickly as she's finished. This lets us milk 120 cows in under an hour — the least time possible on concrete.
Because they change fields every 12 hours, the cows come into the parlour very clean, but nevertheless all the cows are pre-dipped and inspected before the machines go on. The milking system itself was designed in Ireland to keep good udder health in the cows and maintain high milk quality. The cows' health is monitored closely; we treat only a handful of cows every year, but when there is a problem, we respond to it quickly.
We're big believers in keeping our cheesemaking milk fresh. Our milk is never held more than twelve hours, and for half the makes it’s pumped straight from the milkroom to the cheese vats.
It's All About The Milk
A seasonal grass dairy making farmstead cheese needs a very different cow than a conventional dairy farmer. Our quest for the perfect herd has led from our original herd of purebred Jerseys to New Zealand, France... and beyond.
For a raw milk cheesemaker, the quality and integrity of the milk is essential. As a farmstead cheesemaker we have the luxury of controlling every step of the process.
Each of our three cheeses has its own original recipe and its own specialized make process; our seasonal raw milk means no two makes are the same.