Someone emailed us a link to this video. While it points out some serious concerns we should all have with mega-farming, it lumps all milk producers together in this category. This is simply inaccurate. Here’s my clarification: It is true that the industrial production of milk can be an incredible burden on the planet. There [...]
Posts under ‘Dairy’
Hahn’s End Creamery
It was tough to get hold of Hahns’ End creamery, but several people we spoke to – cheese makers and cheese lovers alike – told us it would be worth it. The Maine Cheese Guild offers an address and phone number for Hahn’s End, but no website or email address. And they’re not easy to [...]
Spring Day Creamery
Our next Maine cheese maker was Spring Day Creamery, operated by Sarah Spring (who owns a Springer Spaniel – there seems to be a theme here!). Sarah makes her cheese in a 40-gallon vat. She doesn’t have her own animals, and buys her cow milk from either Pineland Farms or another local wholesaler. Like us, [...]
Pineland Farms
Our next stop was Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine. We picked Pineland from the Maine Cheese Guild website, knowing nothing about it. Located on a huge expanse of farmland on the edge of a multi-use business park that was formerly a school for the “feeble minded,” Pineland is a relatively large operation. Production Manaager [...]
Silvery Moon Creamery
Our travels took us to Westbrook, Maine, to visit Silvery Moon Creamery. They are noted for their fresh and pasta filata cheeses. We didn’t get to try their award-winning Crème Fraiche, but we did buy some lovely Provalone and Mozzarella. Silvery Moon is run by Dorathee Grimm, and we were shown around by Tyler (above), [...]
Rising Prices
Over the past several weeks, our customers may have noticed that our cheese prices are inching upward. Here’s why: Last fall a ton of hay cost $90; now we’re paying $200 per ton, a 122% increase. We’ve heard of some folks paying up to $260 per ton! A bag of rolled barley cost $8.49 in [...]
Milking Stand
We’re often asked where to get a stand for milking goats. Our current one is metal and came from Caprine Supply. Wood is not permitted in a licensed dairy. The most important thing for a milking stand is that it support the goat, hold her in place without hurting her, and be affordable for the [...]
Tips on Sanitation for Home Dairying
If you want to make great cheese, you have to start with good, clean milk. When we first started milking for our own use, we used a simple wood milking stand and mostly plastic equipment. This would never pass inspection for a licensed dairy, but works well for home dairying. The main thing is, anything [...]
How others do it
We’ll be milking ten goats this year– more than we’ve ever milked before, but not enough to keep our equipment busy. So we’ve been looking for a cow dairy from which to buy milk for making other varieties of cheese.
This week, we came to an agreement with a dairy out west of us. It’s a huge facility with state of the art equipment– and the owner has a reputation for doing things right.
Here’s a look at how a large but ethical dairy does things.
How does this thing work?
We bought our new (used) pasteurizer last fall, never thinking that it didn’t come with a manual. After weeks of internet searches, emails, and phone calls, we finally found someone who knows how it works. It turns out the hot water (yes, thankfully it’s designed for hot water, not steam) is delivered under pressure, sprays [...]
