June 28, '08. Foggy caves make for award-winning sheep cheese: radio farm tour.
Posted by Sylvia Burgos at 6/22/2008 7:48 PM and is filed under Wisconsin,artisan cheese,farmstead,artisan production,Organic,sheep cheese,local foods 
Show notes for June 28 '08.
My plan had been to spend an extended late lunch hour at Mary and David Falk's LoveTree Farm, but as the early June afternoon melted into the evening, the conversation was still lively and the pot was put on for tea. There was so much to see and learn about this sheep dairy. An affable couple generous with their ideas and time, the Falk's have farmed their 200 acres of rolling hills in West central, Wisconsin for over 20 years. They began milking their sheep in 1993, and since then have worked to achieve a triple-bottom line: a sustainable, organic production; award-winning farmstead cheeses; and advancing a breeding program to develop a strain of sheep able to thrive in Wisconsin winters and produce the needed volume of high-quality milk.
If this farm sounds familiar to you, it’s no surprise. In 1999, LoveTree began collecting numerous awards. In 2000, it swept the young-sheep-milk-cheese category at the American Cheese Society Conference. And two years later, Mary and David were named Food Artisan ofthe Year by Bon Appetite and Food Network.
The podcast will introduce you to the Falks, their sheep and their large and very special guardian dogs. This is the first of two shows featuring LoveTree Farm. I hope you'll enjoy it.
But first, some background: The US is the world’s largest importer of sheep-milk cheeses. We - that's you and me - import over 72-million pounds of sheep-milk products a year. Now, compare this to the level of domestic production: about 450,000 pounds – under half-a-million. Seems like a growth market to me. One that could provider living wage for many more than the roughly 100-125 sheep dairies now operating across the US and Canada.
Are you buying domestic? If you are, I'll bet it isn't because of the industry economics. No, if you're like me, bliss is a wedge of well-aged cheese matched with a great wine, and accompanied by a hunk of hearth bread - something with a real crust. Isn’t that just about the most perfect meal ever? OK, it’s missing the chocolate, but other than that, isn’t that simple meal a slice of heaven?
Well, that picture got a whole new splash of color after tasting a variety of cheeses lifted off the cedar blanks in Mary Falk's aging caves. You can see pictures of some of these cheeses, of Mary and Peter Falk, their Spanish Ranch Mastiff, Pedro, and their sheep, click on the LoveTree photo gallery.
You can also find out lots more about sheep dairy operations from a number of sources. Here are a few I used:
- The Dairy Business Innovation Center, Madison, Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Artisan Dairy Network
- Wisconsin Sheep Diary Cooperative
- Sheep! magazine
Enjoy the farm tour, and drop me a line. I'd love to hear from more of our growing Internet radio community. Over the last several months, I've chatted with ABC&W-lovers in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, Nevada, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Stuttgart, Germany. Where are you enjoying artisan bread cheese and wine? And what domestic finds can you share with the rest of us?
Till next time, eat well. Eat thoughtfully, and if, at all possible, eat locally.
Bye!
Sylvia@artisanbreadcheeseandwine.com
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