Economics of Cheesemaking

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• Milk Quality Standards and Supplier Agreements – 2019 – Sarah Hoffman, Green Dirt Farm.  A presentation on the importance of milk quality for making cheeses and the standards Green Dirt Farm has for milk suppliers.  It also covers some challenges to consider and a payment scheme.

• Buying sheep’s milk… What an adventure! – 2019 – Marie-Chantal Houde, Nouvelle France Fromagerie.  A presentation on where and what Fromagerie Nouvelle France looks for when buying sheep milk from other producers to make their cheeses and yogurt and how they pay, as well as some of the challenges and solutions.

• 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.

• Starting a Local Sheep’s Milk Cheese Revolution to beat BIG IMPORT CHEESE! – 2019 – Dorota Siejek-Hendershot, Boise Co-Op Fresh Foods Purchasing Coordinator, ACS Certified Cheese Professional.  A presentation on how packaging, flavor profiles, portion size, sampling/events, and your story can all help you get more opportunities to sell your cheese.

• How does the use of Sheep milk change economic feasibility and break even prices for the artisan cheesemaker? - 2018 - Examines how costs of purchased milk and processing equipment (particularly the scale of processing facility and size of creamery equipment) and the type of cheese produced, impact the breakeven price of cheese production.

• 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.

• Challenges to Launching a Cheese Business - Insights from a Small Business two years in - 2015. Anna Landmark. One producer's, Landmark Creamery, look at the challenges of opening and operating a cheesemaking facility.

• 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.

• Markets & Marketing of Sheep Milk Cheeses - 2015. Jeanne Carpenter. Tools and information for marketing sheep's milk cheeses.

• Creating Artisanal Cheeses: A Mix of Art & Science - 2012 - Sidney M. Cook, Carr Valley Cheese Co. A look at what cheesemakers desire in sheep milk and how to create quality milk for cheese making.

• THE DAIRY BUSINESS INNOVATION CENTER: A CATALYST FOR INNOVATION - 2006 - Kate Arding and Norman E. Monsen - Dairy Business Innovation Center. Introduction and Overview of the Dairy Business Innovation Center and the Wisconsin Value Added Dairy Initiative Program

• ORGANIC SHEEP DAIRY: MARKETS AND PRODUCTION - 2006 - Jody Padgham Education Director, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), Discussion and overview of the trends in organic production, including cost of goods versus consumer pricing.  Makes an argument for increasing organic dairy production

• Farmer panel on labor - 2005 - Fischer. Mark Fischer of Woodcock farm discusses farm labor from a cheesemaking perspective.

• Associated costs of installing a micro-cheese plant in Quebec - 2003 - Trudel. This paper reports a survey of established farmstead cheese plants in Quebec in 2003. In French with English summary.

• 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.

• An Economic Comparison Between A Dairy Sheep and a Non-Dairy Sheep Operation - 1998

• The Potential for a Dairy Sheep Industry in the Northwest - 1995 - Jordan and Boylan Discussion of Sheep Dairying in Europe, and argument for doing so in US.

• Economic Potential for Sheep Dairy Products in the US - 1995 - Wendorff  Shows the economic potential for sheep dairy products in the US due to composition of the milk.