Farmstead and Artisan Cheeses: A Guide to Building a Business

There is nothing like taking fresh, sweet milk and turning it into a lovely wheel of nutty, aged Gouda or a wonderful, tangy chèvre with herbs—but can you make a living as a cheesemaker? Navigating the start-up of any business is hard work, but cheesemaking has its own special challenges. While many other publications address cheesemaking itself, this new manual walks you, as a beginning cheesemaker, through the steps necessary to decide if cheesemaking as a business is right for you. Chapters cover: Evaluating your resources Building a business plan Plant layout and design Designing your marketing strategy Risk management Regulations Outstanding reviews for Farmstead and Artisan Cheeses This is the absolute go-to source for everything related to starting a small scale creamery. Creating a delicious and award winning cheese is a sojourn but creating a successful small business is the true test. This is the necessary guide for creating a solid business plan and strategy that will endure, evolve and win.—David Gremmel, Rogue Creamery, Chairman, American Cheese Society, and Ambassador, Guilde Internationale des Fromagers This essential, unique, and comprehensive book explains how to launch a cheesemaking business . . . nowhere else will one find such useful worksheets and links to key sources needed for success. Sure wish it had been available when I started my cheese business.—Jennifer Bice, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery Barbara Reed's new book fills an important niche in the artisan cheese literature. Making great cheese is not enough. Barbara's book tells you everything else that must be considered in order to have a sustainable business. It's a valuable resource for anyone contemplating a start up artisan cheese business.—Mike Gingrich, Uplands Cheese Co.,Dodgeville, WI This new publication is required reading for any aspiring small-scale cheesemaker. Although several books exist on the technical aspects of cheese production, to date very little has been written about the business side of developing a creamery. The style of the book is approachable and pragmatic, citing case studies and the experience of individual businesses cheesemakers.—Kate Arding, Co-founder Culture Magazine, Cheesemonger, and Cheese Consultant Barbara Reed was a “go-to” expert whenever we had a difficult cheese question needing an answer. Her book explores the true complexities involved in combining a passion for creating a unique American cheese with the realities of operating a successful and profitable business. This book will help anyone who might be interested in taking the dream of making great cheese to the reality of a creating a successful and joyful business endeavor.—Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, Tomales Bay Foods & Cowgirl Creamery This book provides great insight for the novice business owner as to what reality looks like after the "romance fog" of being a cheese maker clears. It will serve as a great hands-on tool in building a business plan and reference workbook for the day-to-day issues that arise in business. Cheesemaking is really the easy part.—Dave Potter, Dairy Connection Inc, Madison, Wisconsin Publication Number: 3522 Copyright Date: 2011 Length: 148 pp Language: English ISBN-13: 978-1-60107-692-2 Author: B. REED, L. J. BUTLER, E. RILLA Inventory Type: Paperback