CHEESE IS OUR PRODUCT.
SHEEP ARE OUR BUSINESS.
Happy, healthy animals produce the healthiest milk — and our sheep are
raised with expert care and bred to produce the highest-quality lambs and milk.
we knew from the beginning this business would require long-term strategic flock management, starting with a three-year-long genetic Improvement program. And now, our consistently succulent cheese is the result of our steadfast commitment to the health and comfort of our sheep.
Our sheep get the highest quality alfalfa hay - perfectly dried and rich with blooms and leaves. Our hay is nutritious and has a sweet, fresh-from-the-field aroma. And the sheep are fed “free choice”, meaning they can eat as much and often as they desire.
We see every sheep every day so we know if one needs a little TLC. We spare no effort or expense in assuring that each sheep is healthy, comfortable, and stress-free. Our sheep depend on us and we work hard to earn their trust. We treat them with gentle respect and speak to them in a calm, kind voice.
We bought our first sheep from reputable dairies who had invested for many years in the genetic improvement of their flocks in concert with the sheep dairy program at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station, U-WI Madison. But before we made our first wheel of cheese we spent three years improving our flock’s overall health, condition, and genetics. We invested heavily in identifying the best mix of breeds for our terroir - the very best genetics to assure every sheep born here would have The Three V’s: vigor, vitality, and joie de Vivre.
Sheep’s milk is naturally homogenized, contains significantly more protein and major nutrients, and is easier to digest than cow’s or goat’s milk. It also contains twice as much butterfat (7.4%) as cow’s (3.7%) and goat’s milk (3.6%), giving the cheese a much more flavorful and delicious bite each time.
We’re proud to say our flock is unique to the US in its breed composition. The “U.S. dairy sheep” breed developed at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station is predominantly East Friesian. The East Friesian originated in Germany and are the “Holstein cows” of dairy sheep, producing the highest volume of milk. Because we planned to make cheese, we wanted more butterfat and protein in our milk. So we introduced Awassi and Lacaune genetics to our flock. The Awassi and Lacaune breeds are the “Jersey cows” of dairy sheep -- their milk contains the highest percentage of butterfat and protein. The Awassi is a Middle East desert sheep, indigenous to Israel. Over the past 85 years, the Israelis invested heavily in improving Awassi genetics for milk production - resulting in a hardy breed that produces milk rich in butterfat and protein. We are one of only a handful of people in the U.S. who have Iraeli-improved Awassi genetics. To further increase the butterfat and protein content of our milk, as well as the prolificacy of our flock, we introduced Lacaune genetics. The Lacaune originated in southern France, the ancestral home of Roquefort and many other sheep's milk cheeses. Although our genetic program is in its infancy, we have already seen the results: our ewes produce a high quantity of incredibly rich and nutritious milk, the taste and aroma of which shines through our cheese.
Genetic improvement requires time, resources, and devotion, and we committed to this ongoing effort on Day 1 to ensure our cheeses would be made using only the best quality milk.
