Chaseholm Farm has been in the Chase family for three generations. What started off as a dumping ground has now turned into a small farm that fuels Amazing Real Live Food Co., which produces everything from raw milk and cheese to Saurkraut and Kombucha. Using their raw milk license, they are able to milk 30 cows on over 70 acres of land. By reusing the maure as fertilizer and fermenting the hay fed to the cows, they are able to follow through on their motto: ‘Better soil, better food, better people.’ Unlike larger farms, they are interested in the longevity of the cow, keeping the calf with the heffer to improve the happiness of the herd. Their oldest cow is now 10, and they are hoping to keep their cows productive until the old age of 12, unlike other farms in America that only keep their cows alive for an average of 4 years. While the barn is nearly 75 years old, their ideas and methods are revolutionary and will hopefully start changing the face of dairy.

From the cows, Chaseholm Farm is able to produce 7 different types of cheese. Rory Chase is the mastermind and cheese connoisseur of Amazing Real Live Food Co. Rory chose the cheeses that he did because he not only personally liked them, but they had the fastest turnaround time of any of the cheeses. His knowledge of the science of the cheese was far beyond anything we could have imagined and while it was often difficult to follow along, it became clear that cheese making is a complicated art form with much more to it than what we see on the shelf in the store.  Unlike other creameries, Chaseholm farm does not age their cheese in plastic, but instead a natural rind with aging processes from 10 months to only a few days. They also offer a very wide variety of cheeses from the basic quesoblanco to a complicated, “funky” cheese they like to call Monkshood, which is washed in cider. While lots of complicated jargon was tossed around, the most important thing we learned was that the taste and type all depends on the yeast, mold and curd size – it’s not all about the age. All cheese starts out as milk and, while there are very few ingredients, the different treatments result in a wide variety of cheeses.

Situated half in Dutchess County and half in Columbia County, Chaseholm Farm will have a problem trying to sell parts of their farm if finances ever become too tight. They have very little income and run a small operation cobbled together with materials and employees from larger farms. Just a month ago Chaseholm Farm opened their doors to their quaint farm store where you can buy all of their products. They also frequent farmers markets from larger markets in Cold Spring and Ossining to smaller markets closer to home. While many farmers often despise these markets, Rory Chase seems to enjoy spreading his love and knowledge of cheese. We were lucky enough to be his pupils for a day and experience the delicious products of Chaseholm Farm.

For more information about Chaseholm Farm, visit their site!