The Farmstead Creamery Advisor: The Complete Guide to Building and Running a Small, Farm-Based Cheese Business

There has never been a better time to be making and selling great cheese. People worldwide are consuming more high-quality, handmade cheese than ever before.

The number of artisan cheesemakers has doubled in recent years, and many of the industry’s newcomers are “farmstead” producers— those who work only with the milk of their own animals. Today, the people who choose to become farmer-cheesemakers need access to the knowledge of established cheese artisans who can help them build their dream.

In The Farmstead Creamery Advisor–retitled and reissued in 2014 as The Small-Scale Chees Business*–respected cheesemaker, instructor, and speaker Gianaclis Caldwell walks would-be producers through the many, and often confusing, steps and decisions they will face when considering a career in this burgeoning cottage industry.

This book fills the gap that exists between the pasture and the cheese plate. It takes readers far beyond issues of caring for livestock and basic cheesemaking, explaining business issues such as:

• Analyzing your suitability for the career
• Designing and building the cheese facility
• Sizing up the market
• Negotiating day-to-day obstacles
• Ensuring maximum safety and efficiency

Drawing from her own and other cheesemakers’ experiences, Caldwell brings to life the story of creating a successful cheesemaking business in a practical, organized manner. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in becoming a licensed artisan cheesemaker, The Farmstead Creamery Advisor appeals to the many small- and hobby-farm owners who already have milking animals and who wish to improve their home-dairy practices and facilities.

*A special note for the eBook edition of The Farmstead Creamery Advisor: this eBook will remain available and serve as the electronic version of The Small-Scale Cheese Business.

In her first book, The Farmstead Creamery Advisor (Chelsea Green, 2010), Gianaclis presented would-be farmer-cheesemakers with a thorough guide to building and running a small, on-farm cheese business. In Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking (Chelsea Green, 2012) she provides guidance on the intricacies of cheesemaking science alongside considerations for preparing each type of cheese variety.

Gianaclis has been teaching all levels of cheesemaking for years, as well as speaking and teaching about the business of farmstead cheese, both at her family's licensed cheese dairy, Pholia Farm, and other venues, including the American Dairy Goat Association annual convention, the American Cheese Society Conference, and the Mother Earth News Fairs.

Gianaclis' aged, raw-milk cheeses have been recognized and applauded by America's foremost authorities on cheese. Pholia Farm cheeses have been included in many major books on artisan cheese, the latest being Max McCalman's Mastering Cheese, in which her Elk Mountain cheese is included in a short list of "rock stars of the 21st century." Her Hillis Peak cheese was the centerfold cheese in the Winter 2010 issue of Culture Magazine. She was one of the spotlighted cheesemakers in a recent publication Cheesemaking by Hobby Farms magazine for their Popular Kitchen Series