August 19-21st at Spring Hill Farmstead Goat Cheese, Bayside, California I'm excited to be back to teaching this three day immersive, hands-on class we used to hold at Pholia Farm. Karin (kuh-rin) Eide owner and cheesemaker of Spring Hill Farmstead Goat Cheese is hosting the small class at her dairy and creamery. There are currently … Continue reading Farmstead Cheesemaking Class in Humbolt Co
Creamery Design and Business
The FDA’s Food Safety Plan Builder – Cheesemaker’s Perspective
Perhaps you’ve heard of the free software being provided by the FDA to help food producers develop an in depth food safety plan, called Food Safety Plan Builder, or FSPB for short. I had been eagerly awaiting its release, which happened in August 2017. This article will share my experience of working with the software … Continue reading The FDA’s Food Safety Plan Builder – Cheesemaker’s Perspective
Aging Cheese on Wood Shelves and Food Safety – a Non-Issue
As a person who tends to want to follow rules, it is sad to be reminded that a good portion of food production regulations have little to do with actual food safety, rather they are the result of a ponderous, rigid system that steam rolls forward, sometimes based more on the ease of generalizing rather than the … Continue reading Aging Cheese on Wood Shelves and Food Safety – a Non-Issue
The Most Important Room in the Dairy
When I designed our small, farmstead dairy and creamery in 2005, I unknowingly left out what is perhaps the most important and useful room - the Baby Milk Kitchen. After working through a handful of chaotic kidding seasons, struggling to maneuver around whoever was milking, cluttering up the milk house with bucket feeders, etc., I realized that … Continue reading The Most Important Room in the Dairy
Preliminary Assessment FlowChart for Future Farmstead Creameries
Here is another flow chart I created that will walk you through the many considerations you should face before deciding to build a farmstead or artisan cheesemaking business. The red boxes signify a step at which you should stop and assess several factors for suitability, costs, and possible income. If you follow this path, you … Continue reading Preliminary Assessment FlowChart for Future Farmstead Creameries
FlowChart- Steps to Licensing a Creamery
Here is a flow chart that may be helpful in seeing the many steps of licensing and permits involved with building a cheesemaking facility. I have focused this chart on California, as it is one of the more "permit heavy" states, but most of the steps will apply in other states as well.
“What’s it Going to Cost?” A Look at the Cost of Building a Farmstead Creamery
If you are considering turning your goat hobby into a business, either a milk or cheese dairy, then you are probably trying to find the answer to one very important question, what’s it going to cost to build? You have probably already figured out that there are no easy, one-size-fits-all answers to this question, but … Continue reading “What’s it Going to Cost?” A Look at the Cost of Building a Farmstead Creamery