Garden Variety Cheese
Our sheep produce lovely, rich sweet milk that makes fabulous cheese. To ensure the health and well-being of the animals and the high quality of the milk and cheese from Garden Variety Cheese, the 100 milking ewes here at Monkeyflower Ranch are fed on fresh pasture, non-GMO alfalfa hay and certified organic brewer’s grain from Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing and certified organic grain from Modesto Milling.
Each ewe is named after a garden flower and treated with love and respect. Our dairy sheep are seasonal producers - each individual only gives milk for about six months per year. This season, we have staggered our breeding and hope to have fresh milk for yogurt for most of the year.
We also raised heritage pigs on the whey from the creamery. They are free-ranging under the oak trees and are also fed the organic spent brewer's grain and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables from local farms. They feed is supplemented with a certified organic pellet ration from Modesto Mills as well. We never give our pigs antibiotics, chemical wormers or any hormones - just lots of fresh air and room to roam.
This spring our small flock of laying hens will begin producing eggs! We have 170 hens and 11 roosters, ranging freely in our fruit orchard. They are fed certified organic grains from Modesto Milling, and organic brewer's grains as well as fresh fruit and vegetables from local farms.
