Vermont Cheesemakers Festival


Shelburne Farm, Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, Little Seed Farm, GrassfedVolunteer Sign In at the Shelburne Farms Coach Barn
What a weekend! After a great Saturday traipsing around Hawthorne Valley Farm, Scrapple and I took a trip up to my home state for the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival. Cheese fest? In Vermont? We didn't need any more convincing. We weren’t entirely sure what to expect, but we happily signed up as volunteers to help with vendor set-up. Volunteering was a great way to save $35 each on a ticket and get a chance to meet the cheesemakers. After set-up we were free to spend an amazing day indulging in VT artisan cheese, beer, chocolate, and conversation. We're sure to be first in line to volunteer again next year!

We arrived at Shelburne Farms at 8am for our Vendor Set-up shift and were stunned by the beauty and sheer massiveness of the farm (approx. 400 acres bordering Lake Champlain). I had been once or twice to their working museum when I was in elementary school and have fond memories of churning butter but somehow not a one of the amazingly stunning architecture or the idyllic location on Lake Champlain. The sun was shining, a soft breeze was blowing, and the cheese was rolling in! And ooh the cheese!
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One Small Step for Family Farming, One Giant Step for Little Seed Farm

Sprout Creek Farm, Cheese Curds, Little Seed FarmSprout Creek Farm Cheese Curds - Photo by Sprout Creek's Georgie Blaeser
Big news on the Little Seed Farm front! Sweetbreads recently accepted an apprenticeship role at Sprout Creek Farm near Poughkeepsie, NY. We’ll be packing up and moving out at the end of November and she’ll be working on the farm for approximately 6 months. As we posted about previously, Sprout Creek operates a highly diversified farm (dairy, meat chickens, eggs, pork, lamb, goat, turkeys, etc), but really specializes in cheese. 

On our first Farm Hop to Sprout Creek we had a long heart-to-heart with Margo Morris, the founder. The entire time we were chatting I was thinking to myself
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Farm Hopping: Milking and Cheesemaking at Sprout Creek Farm

In the latest installment of Farm Hopping, Scrapple and Sweetbreads go to Sprout Creek Farm! Twice!

Sprout Creek Farm, Little Seed Farm, Barn, To Be A FarmerSprout Creek Farm - Photo by Sprout Creek's Georgie Blaeser Sprout Creek Farm is a highly diversified farm with farm enterprises including dairy cows, sheep, pigs, meat & laying chickens, turkeys, an on-farm retail market and more. The farm is structured as a non-profit and is operated by the Society of the Sacred Heart. Sprout is most well-known for its cheese and youth summer camp. The farm produces 15 varieties of cheese from approximately 400,000 pounds of milk from herds of ~40 cows and ~65 goats. As if Sprout’s excellent cheese wasn’t enough of a highlight, the farm also offers kids the opportunity to spend the summer on the farm participating in all aspects of farming. Gardening, milking, animal husbandry, you name it! The staff’s ability to teach 10 yrs olds about farming turned out to be perfect for getting us up to speed!
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