It’s been a glorious autumn for getting out to the pastures and our fall milk is better than ever! Breeding season is in full swing and we should be expecting up to 400 new kids starting in January. We are gearing up for a full barn- the joint will be jumping! Our distribution is branching throughout the midwest and spilling out across the country. If you don’t see Idyll Farms in your favorite cheese shop, please ask for it! The cheesemonger can always look us up and we are happy to send out samples their way. We are also on the verge of an exciting new packaging system for our fresh chèvre in tub (which will be renamed “Spreadable Idyll Pastures”) as well as our Idyll Pastures. This new packaging will extend these products significantly and we will be able to distribute it more widely. Stay tuned for launch dates!

Make sure to check out our Idyll Gris, featured in Culture Magazine’s Best Cheeses of the Year!

Idyll Farms recommends proper footwear for all guests. Contact reservations@idyllfarms.com today to schedule your tour!

We have had a busy couple of weeks! Our kidding season began March 10, with Detroit giving birth to a doeling, prompting us to offer a Idyll Farms Detroit t-shirt to the winning name for her kid (it needs to start with an “E”). Jury is still out on the winner. As of publish date, 48 kids have been born out of a possible 300 by the end of next month.

Jury has voted (in fact, an international panel of experts) on our cheese at the 2016 World Championship Cheese Contest! The World Championship Cheese Contest, initiated in 1957, is the largest technical cheese, butter, and yogurt competition in the world. A record-setting 2,959 cheese entries from 23 countries and 31 states were evaluated during the three- day competition in Madison, Wisconsin. Idyll Farms won “Best in Class” (Gold Medal) as well as a Silver Medal for our Idyll Gris in the Surface (Mold) Ripened Goat’s Milk Cheeses and a Bronze Medal for our newest product, Idyll Pastures with Garlic and Herbs, in the Flavored Soft Goat’s Milk Cheeses. Congrats to Team Idyll, headed up on the farm side by Leonard Pollara, for keeping our goats and pastures happy and healthy, giving us our beautiful milk for our cheese, and on the creamery side by our proven award-winning cheesemaker, Melissa Hiles, who has been the backbone of Idyll Farms operations since the farm’s inception.

It’s been a glorious fall with fantastic weather for our Idyll goats to be on pasture! Our rotational grazing practices have made a remarkable difference in how prolific, rich and lush our pastures have become while providing an outstanding quality and array of forage. Using the portable electric fences has been key to tailoring each days’ grazing. This pasture improvement is transferred to the health and happiness of our goats, making their milk ideal for our farmstead cheeses to capture the unique terroir of Northport. Mating season is coming to a close. Our girls are on their last stretch of milking days until their pregnancy leave kicks in for January and February. We always let the herd rest to allow for the peak of success in kidding and doe health. We expect to have a very limited amount of our amazing aged cheeses during January, February and March. Once our does start kidding again in March we will be kicking off our 2016 fresh cheese season.
We have enjoyed making cheeses for you this year and are eager and looking forward to sharing another exciting flavorful spring with you in 2016!
In the mean while…

Give the gift of Northern Michigan’s terroir with Idyll Farms Holiday offerings-

We are now taking orders for our Holiday Boxes to stock up on chèvre to serve at your holiday celebrations or to send to your family and friends as a tasty gift from Northern Michigan that they can sink their teeth into!
Please email orders to: orders@idyllfarms.com NO LATER THAN December 10th, the last day we will be taking orders for December 25th delivery. Don’t forget about your New Year’s Eve celebration either!

Chèvre trio
Small box- $45 plus tax and shipping
Trio of Camembert, Mont Idyll, and Idyllweiss
approximately 17 oz

Chèvre and Cherries
Medium box- $75 plus tax and shipping
Trio of Camembert, Mont Idyll and Idyllweiss
Trio of Tart Cherry Preserve, Tart Cherry Butter, and Tart Cherries Foster

Chilling with Chèvre and Cherries
Large box- $100 plus tax and shipping
Trio of Camembert, Mont Idyll and Idyllweiss
Trio of Tart Cherry Preserve, Tart Cherry Butter, and Tart Cherries Foster
Idyll Farms Chill by FlexiFreeze collapsible cooler bag with re-freezable ice
Idyll Farms green embroidered baseball hat
Plus *free* bonus Idyll Farms plush toy goat