Farm Business Profiles
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Virtual Farm Tours-2023- Michael and Aisling Flanagan, Velvet cloud and Rockfield Dairy, Ireland, Diane Rae, Nicole Gilliver and Ryan Hartshorn, Grandvewe Cheese, Australia, Christen Waddell, Blackberry Farm, USA
Video Farm Tours from Around the World – VIDEO - 2022 - La Verde Oveja (Ecuador), Llaeth Medra Milk (Wales), Pago de los Vivales(Spain). A unique look at three different sheep dairies from around the world.
Video Farm Tours: Production of Sheep’s Milk Gelato/Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt - VIDEO - 2022- Dreamie’s Creamery, Monkeyflower Ranch, Blackeyed Susan’s Sheep Dairy. Three different producers talk about their operations that make frozen desserts made from sheep milk.
Virtual Farm Tours from Farms in Oregon, Quebec, Wisconsin - VIDEO - January 2022, Audrey Boulet, Les Brebis du Beaurivage, Woody Babcock and Cora Wahl, Woodrow Farms and Sheep Dairy, Mariana Marques de Almeida, Ms. J & Co., Brad Gregory, Black Sheep Creamery. Four Virtual Farm Tours from across North America.
Using H-2A Workers on Our Seasonal Sheep Dairy Farm – 2019 – Bee Tolman, Meadowood Farms. A presentation on the struggles of finding enough labor for sheep dairy farms and how the H2-A program has been a solution for their farm. It also discusses the process of getting started in the program.
Producing & Selling Bottled Milk at Misty Meadow Sheep Dairy – 2019 – Bill Simmerman, Misty Meadow Farm. A presentation on how Misty Meadow Sheep Dairy processes and packages fluid milk to sell for human consumption.
Selling Bottled Sheep Milk Direct to the Consumer – 2019 – Debbie Webster, Whispering Pines Farm. A presentation on Whispering Pines Farm experience with selling bottled sheep milk for human consumption, particularly their consumer base and response.
Bottling Sheeps Milk in Montana – 2019 – Kim and Jim Ashmore, KJ’n Ranch, INC. & Sheep Mountain Creamery. An interview with KJ’n Ranch, INC. & Sheep Mountain Creamery about how they bottle fluid milk for human consumption, what motivated to begin, and the pros and cons of offering bottled milk.
Pricing our sheeps-milk cheeses – 2019 – Lynn Swanson, Glendale Shepherd. A presentation on how Glendale Shepherd prices their sheep milk cheeses and yogurts. They sell at local farmers markets and an on-farm store.
Pricing Our Cheeses at Black Sheep Creamery – 2019 – Brad Gregory, Black Sheep Creamery. A presentation on how Black Sheep Creamery prices their sheep milk cheeses. They sell to farmers markets, distributors, and their own storefront.
Pricing sheep milk cheeses for the market – 2019 – Alissa Shethar, Fairy Tale Farm. A presentation on how Fairy Tale Farm prices their sheep milk cheeses. They sell at farmers’ markets, grocery stores, restaurants, and previously to distributors.
On-Farm Processing: Ice cream and yogurt to the New Jersey Shore - 2018 - Costs and process of setting up a sheep dairy with on-farm processing. Includes a bit of marketing wisdom.
The Economics of On-Ranch/Farm Processing - 2018 -Costs and process of setting up a sheep dairy with on-farm processing in Montana. Equipment choices, surprises, and what they would do differently if they had to do it all over again.
Building a farmstead Cheese business with Cash - 2018 - The cost of establishing a sheep dairy in Idaho with an on-farm processing facility for cheesemaking. Being realistic in estimates of revenue from cheese sales; careful selection of marketing locations.
Garden Variety Cheese - 2018 - A California producer-processor breaks down her cheese and yogurt production by product type and also breaks down her total sales by product type. Labelling examples and meat/cheese packages for customer order.
Veldhuizen Cheese - 2018 - A Texas producer-processor explains her cheese marketing avenues, including on-farm store, on-farm events, signage, wholesalers, and social media.
Agri-tourism at Whispering Pines Farm - 2018 - A South Carolina farm explains their agri-tourism-based farm business, meeting visitor expectations, and clubs and events held on the farm.
Agritourism at Dayspring Dairy - 2018 - An Alabama sheep dairy describes their farm business, cheese product list, and marketing avenues, including agritourism and labor challenges.
Agritouism at Harmony Fields - 2018 - A producer-processor in Washington state discusses agritourism as a secondary revenue source. Discussion of an on-farm rental cottage, hosting school groups, holding wool workshops.
Virtual Tour of Black Pearl Creamery - 2016. Lauren & Kevin McKinzey. A look at a small farm milking 30 ewes once a day producing yogurt. Discusses how they milk including details on pulsation rate & vacuum; their production schedule, productivity data and marketing their final product.
Virtual Tour of Northland Sheep Dairy - 2016. Maryrose Livingston. A 100% grass based sheep dairy in NY milking crossbred ewes in seasonal production (May-October) and ewes raise their lambs.
Tour of Shepherd's Way LLC: Old Chatham Sheepherding Creamery - 2016. David & Sally Galton. The history behind a large 2100 head dairy sheep operation in NY.
Perspectives on Surviving & Growing in Dairy Sheep Production - 2015. Bill Halligan. The challenges and perspective of operating a sheep dairy with information on trials and tribulations, successes, finding a market & breeding quality animals.
Perspectives on Surviving & Growing in Dairy Sheep Industry - 2015. Brenda & Dean Jensen. A look at a sheep dairy & creamery operation, Hidden Springs, and how and why they chose to produce theirown cheese.
A Perspective of Achieving a Profitable Dairy Sheep Business - 2015. David Galton. An overview of the management of a large one thousand plus ewe dairy.
Biotrack: A Record Keeping System for Dairy and Meat Sheep – 2014 – Terry McNeely. A presentation on the bioTrack record-keeping program and how it can be applied to dairy sheep to help improve genetics and management practices.
Large Sheep and Goat Dairies in Europe – 2014 – Yves Berger. A presentation on some European sheep and goat dairies as examples of the management of flocks with over a thousand animals.
Black Sheep Creamery – 2014 – Brad and Meg Gregory. The history and overview of the Washington sheep dairy Black Sheep Creamery.
How I Started Milk Sheep – 2013 – Andrew Gordanier. A presentation on how a dairy sheep producer got started, the challenges they faced, and an overview of their system.
Orchid Meadow Farms – 2013 – John Ryrie. A presentation on Orchid Meadow Farms. It includes the farm’s history, feed/forage plan, staff, production numbers, and overall management.
How’s it Done in the U.K. – 2013 – John Ryerie. A presentation on the management practices of sheep dairies in the U.K.
Creating Artisanal Cheeses: A Mix of Art & Science - 2012 - Brenda Jensen, Hidden Springs Creamery. An overview of the cheeses made at Hidden Springs and the farm operations that fuel their creamery.
Feeding Dairy Ewes Better For Increased Production & Profit - 2012 - Dan Morrical, Iowa State University. This article looks at nutrient requirements affected by age, weight, stage of production & level of production with a focus on late gestation & lactation phases with a focus on controlling feed costs while increasing output is critical for profitable sheep production. Contains helpful graphs and diagrams on feed needs through different stages.
Ovinshire Farm: Pasture based Feeding for our Flock- 2012 - Scott Burrington, Ovinshire Farm, NY. A look at one farms methods of feeding a flock of 600 sheep on mostly pasture in upstate New York.
Managing Dairy Sheep Nutrition on an Organic Farm - 2012 - Rebecca King, Garden Variety Cheese/Monkeyflower Ranch, CA. A look at nutrition for a flock of 100 ewes on a 40 acre ranch in a mainly pasture environment and with an organic emphasis. Includes information on offering extra hay, feeding brewers grains and types of grasses on the ranch.
Farm Tour 2012 #1: Everona Dairy - 2012 - Pat Elliott, Virginia. A look at their high percentage East Friesian flock, year round milking of 200+ ewes, bottle raising lambs, making and selling cheese.
Farm Tour 2012 #2: Shepherds Manor Creamery - 2012 - Colleen & Michael Histon, Maryland. The history and tale of starting their sheep dairy and creamery.
Getting Started in Sheep Dairying, 2011, Terry Felda. Detailed information in the mistakes made, start-up costs, and outside the box options she used for starting her sheep dairy.
Investing in Relocatable Infrastructure: Organic Creamery and Milking Parlor, 2011, Joel and Carleen Weirauch. Remodeling portable classroom trailers into relocatable creamery and dairy facilities.
Food Safety and Farmstead Cheesemaking, 2011, Dennis D’Amico. Information on cheese as a source of foodborne disease, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, nd how to implement Risk Management Programs in cheesemaking.
Creative Lamb Marketing, 2011, Stephanie Larson, Ph.D. 9 unique ways to market lambs to increase sales.
Method of Pregnancy Diagnosis in Sheep, 2011, Gary Veserat Ms, PAS. Detailed information on the various ways of diagnosing pregnancy in dairy sheep, from simple and cheap to highly skilled.
GETTING STARTED IN SHEEP MILK DAIRYING - 2010 - Jeff and Vicky. Simpkins, Shepherd’s Ridge Creamery
FARM MANAGEMENT DECISIONS MAKING AT IRISH CREAM SHEEP DAIRY - 2010 - Virginia, Cody, and Bill Halligan, Owners of Irish Cream Sheep Dairy
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AT OLD CHATHAM SHEEPHERDING COMPANY - 2010 - Travis Burrows and DaNay Spurge, Old Chatham Sheepherding Co.
RAISING DAIRY LAMBS, TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF DREAM VALLEY FARM - 2010 - Tom and Laurel Kieffer, Dream Valley Farm, LLC
SHEEP MILK PRODUCTION INCLUDING 30-DAY WEANING SYSTEM - 2010 - Brad and Meg Gregory, Black Sheep Creamery
DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF THE DAIRY SHEEP FARM AT OLD CHATHAM SHEEPHERDING COMPANY - 2009 - Tom and Nancy Clark
OVINSHIRE FARM – A WORK IN PROGRESS - 2009 - Scott Burrington and Terri MacKenzie, Ovinshire Farm
GREEN DIRT FARM CREAMERY BUILDING EXPERIENCE - 2009 - Sarah Hoffmann, Green Dirt Farm. Detailed description of building a creamery including floor plans, suppliers and materials used
HIDDEN SPRINGS EXPERIeNCE WITH PLANT DESIGN - 2009 - Brenda Jensen, Hidden Springs Farm and Creamery. Detailed description of the trials and tribulations of building a cheese plant.
PLANT DESIGN AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS - 2009 - Nancy Clark, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company. Detailed description of how Old Chatham's creamery was built; includes advice on what they would change going forward
GETTING STARTED IN SHEEP DAIRYING - 2009 - Rebecca King, Garden Variety Cheese. A description of the points to be considered and some of the information necessary to make key decisions.
SHEEP DAIRYING: IS IT FOR EWE? - 2008 - Sheri Palko
BLACKBERRY FARM - 2008 - Kristian Holbrook
SHEEP MILK PRODUCTION IN NEW MARKET, TENNESSEE - 2008 - Ronnie and Daphne Rogers
SHEEP CHEESE MARKETING PRODUCER PANEL DISCUSSION - 2008 - J. Thomas Clark and Allyson Brennan. Developing marketing, distribution and proven keys to success at Old Chatham Sheepherding Company
SHEEP DAIRY FARM ECONOMIC ANALYSIS COST OF MILK PRODUCTION UPDATE - 2007 - Tom Kieffer and Dan Guertin Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative Strum, Wisconsin, USA. An update from 2006 on the development of a simple, standardized method to calculate the direct cost of milk production using the information provided by 4 farms.
SHEEP DAIRY FARM ECONOMIC ANALYSIS – COST OF MILK PRODUCTION - 2006 - Tom Kieffer and Dan Guertin Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative. Argument for standard recordkeeping and direct cost of milk production.
DAIRY SHEEP PRODUCTION AND CHEESE MAKING IN THE FRENCH PYRENEES - 2006 - G. Lagriffoul , J.M. Arranz 2, JM Astruc 1 E. Morin 1 Institut de l’Elevage - Comité National Brebis Laitières. An overview of dairy sheep production and cheese making in western Pyrenees.
CONTINUUM OF DAIRY OPERATIONS, PRODUCTS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES - 2006 - Alice Henriksen1 and Laurel Kieffer2 1 Shepherd’s Pride Farm, Stillwater, Minnesota 2Dream Valley Farm, Strum, Wisconsin. Summation of a panel discussion with three dairy sheep operators making value-added products with their sheep milk. Discussion includes marketing strategies
MILKING EWES IN THE CENTER OF MEXICO - 2006 - Javier Pérez Rocha Malcher “Santa Marina” Farm El Marques, Querétaro, México. Establishment of an organic dairy farm in Mexico
ARTISAN SHEEP MILK CHEESE - 2006 - Jodi Ohlsen Read Shepherd’s Way Farms Nerstrand, Minnesota. Historical overview of Shepherds Way Farm and their marketing strategies including branding and customer identification
CLOVER DALE SHEEP DAIRY - 2006 - John Henry and Mary Miller Westby, Wisconsin, USA. First commercial hand-milked sheep dairy in USA
HIDDEN SPRINGS FARM AND CREAMERY - 2006 - Dean and Brenda Jensen Westby, Wisconsin, USA. Historical overview and vision for Hidden Springs Farm and Creamery: sustainable environmentally as well as financially with an all-natural, back-to-basics, old-fashioned, original farmstead approach to farming; crafting their food products and their marketing.
CARR VALLEY CHEESE - WISCONSIN’S PREMIER SPECIALTY CHEESE FACTORY SINCE 1902 - 2006 - Sid Cook, Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker and Owner, Carr Valley Cheese, La Valle, Wisconsin, USA Advertisement for Carr Valley Cheese
Farmer panel on labor - 2005 - Fischer. Mark Fischer of Woodcock farm discusses farm labor from a cheesemaking perspective.
Managing your own retail shop: marketeing and self-distribution of farmstead cheese - 2005 - MacKenzie. Alastair MacKenzie shares the process he went through to decide the best way to expand his cheesemaking business. He covers the opportunity, objectives, reality, using strengths, weekly management, products made, pricing, marketing, costs, investments, results and rewards.
Profitability of small ruminant farmstead dairy processing operations - 2005 - Parsons. To address the lack of systematically collected information on the profitability of farmstead dairy processing, a study was completed, which included cow, sheep, and goat operations that made fluid milk, yoghurt, cheese, and ice cream. The authors describe the study methods, why the study farmers chose to do what they do, balance sheets, income statements, and value components of the business./
Lamb rearing strategies: farmer panel - experienced farmers discuss pros and cons of different weaning systems (Old Chatham Sheepherding Co.) - 2005 - Slotter. Beth Slotter of the Old Chatham Sheepherding Co. shares their lamb rearing strategy.
Lamb rearing strategies: farmer panel - experienced farmers discuss pros and cons of different weaning systems (Bonnieview Farm) - 2005 - Urie. Neil Urie of Bonnieview Farm shares their lamb rearing strategy.
Lamb rearing strategies: farmer panel - experienced farmers discuss pros and cons of different weaning systems (3-Corner Field Farm) - 2005 - Weinberg. Karen Weinberg of 3-Corner Field Farm shares their lamb rearing strategy.
Farmer panel on labor - 2005 - Works. Bob Works of Peaked Mountain Farm disucsses labor (high level summary only).
Haskins farm tour - 2004 - Haskins. Paul and Sally Haskins give an overview of their Wisconsin farm, and their goals and priorities.
River Ridge Stock Farm - 2004 -Meisegeier. Larry and Emily Meisegeier give the history of their farm and summarise converting it to a dairy sheep farm and how it operates today.
Our first big cheese sale - 2004 - Falk. Mary Falk relates her experience leading up to her first big cheese sale, including how they started, some challenges, marketing, and the emotional rollercoaster.
Starting in the production of dairy sheep and adding value to the milk - 2003 - White. Rachel White describes the journey she and her husband took in establishing their dairy sheep farm. It includes challenges, progress, labour, and balancing the farm with other jobs. In French with English summary.
Introduction to dairy sheep farming - getting started - 2002 - Tolman. Bee Tolman gives an overview of how the Tolman Sheep Dairy Farm got started, covering business planning, time, overhead control, investing in milk-recorded stock, the details, working off-farm, adding value to your milk, and learning from others.
Start-up and operating costs of small farmstead cheese operations for dairy sheep - 2002 - Delaney. In this paper, examples of actual costs of setting up 3 cheesemaking operations along with some dimensions of rooms and lists of equipment are given, and some sheep dairy farms’ financial summaries are provided with a basic description of the operation. This will allow individuals interested in seeing costs/income associated with different sizes and types of operations to be able to compare different scenarios.
Highlights of Northland Sheep Dairy - 2002 - North. Karl North gives a brief summary of the goals and strategies of Northland Sheep Dairy in New York.
The Wisconsin sheep dairy cooperative - past, present and future - 2001 - Guertin- Daniel Guertin describes the creation of the cooperative after regulations were imposed in the 1990s and it became increasingly complicated to buy/sell sheep milk with multiple parties and meet the compliance needs. He summarises the goals and plans of the Co-op and gives a profile of their members' businesses.
Getting started in sheep dairying - 2001 - Tappe. Jon and Kris Tappe list the goals they set, the steps they took to finance their operation, and construction activities.
Farmstead cheese and marketing - 2001 - Ohlsen Read. Steven and Jodi Ohlsen Read at Shepherd's Way Farms describe the history of their business, their market analysis and strategy, success factors, products, processes, and the future.
Management of a dairy sheep operation - 2001 - Kieffer. Tom and Laurel Kieffer describe the journey they took in changing lifestyle to go sheep dairy farming in Wisconsin. They cover the challenges, genetics, health, facilities/equipment, and economics.
Sheep cheese-making and marketing - 2000 - Gasser. Hani Gasser relates the journey he and his wife took from learning how to make cheese in Switzerland to their current system, the learnings, and the changes.
Farm Adapted Breeds-Crossbreeds. Ghia. 1999 Author discusses concerns with genetics and non-standard record-keeping in industry. Focuses on how milk yield increased at Ewetopia Dairy in Vermont.
Farm Adapted Breeds-Crossbreeds - 1999 - Breeds, Production, Flock Average
Farming to Love the Children: The Unfair Advantage of Small Ruminant Dairying. Lessons Learned at Northland Sheep Dairy. 1998 North. Issues of farming organically vs modern farming practices.
Dream Valley Farm Overview and details of Dream Valley Farm - 1998 - Kieffer - Review of startup for Dream Valley Farm in Wisconsin.
Butler’s Farm. - 1998 - Butler. Review of startup activities for Butler's farm in Wisconsin
Making and Marketing Sheep Milk Cheese (Or How to Start a Sheep Dairy and Live to Tell About It) - 1998 - Callahan. Outline of verbal presentation of the Sheep Dairy and Creamery at Bellwether Farms
Management of Dairy Sheep Flock and Production of Value Added Cheeses - 1997 - Gasser Analysis of three lamb rearing systems concentrating on the mixed weaning method.
The Cottage Industry - Cheesemaking and Marketing - 1996 - Major - A story of the Major Farm focusing on cheesemaking and Marketing.
NADSA - The North American Dairy Sheep Association - What is it and What does it do? - 1996 - Jarvis - Historical overview of the predecessor to DSANA - The North American Dairy Sheep Association (NADSA)
Impressions of Diary Sheep Production in the UK and France - 1996 - Berger/Thomas Overview of the differences between France and the UK dairy industry including AI, farm systems and marketing.
Sheep Dairying in the US - 1995 - Boylan - Historical overview of the start-up of dairying in the US
Developing a Market for Dairy Products - 1995 - Mills - Historical (and humorous) overview of how sheep milk products were marketed in Britain. Contains advice on how to get started here in US.