The
farmstead
Farmstead
ˈfɑː(r)mˌstetd
noun
Farmstead cheese is produced using milk from the farmer’s own herd, on the farm where the animals are raised
American Cheese Society
The meaning of farmstead is sacred among dairy farmers and cheesemakers, and we know you value it too. As a true Wisconsin farmstead, we only use milk from the animals we raise. With a passion for knowing where our food comes from, we wouldn’t make our award-winning cheese any other way.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes, step-by-step look.
SouRcing the Milk
It all starts with raising healthy, happy, productive cows in the heart of America’s Dairyland. Our cows have their own dietitian and our team is trained to treat our animals with respect. Our cheese plant is steps away from our milking parlor, allowing us to begin the cheesemaking process within 90 seconds of milking.
Handling the Milk
We are careful not to alter the physical structure of the milk through storing, pumping or shipping. It goes right into the vat to harden into curd.
Monitoring The Process
Our talented cheesemakers have over 30 years of combined experience. They use every sense—touch, taste, sight, smell and sound—to make real-time adjustments based off what the cheese is telling them. They agitate the curds and whey to keep them from sticking together and to expel moisture.
Using Our Hands
In order to get that hand-crafted taste, we use, well, our hands! Every ounce of our cheese is hand-manipulated.
The cheesemakers feed the cheddar slabs into the milling machine to shape into fresh cheese curds.
They then add mozzarella curd to the cooker to melt and check the stretchiness of the melted curd before it’s formed into whips.
The whips are cut and dropped into a saltwater brine, adding flavor and cooling the individual pieces of cheese.
Shipping To YOu
Six hours later, we have a delicious finished product. We do one more quality check before packaging it up and shipping across the country to cheese lovers like you. And, Voila! We have the finished product.
