The closure of Honeysuckle Lane Cheese a couple of months ago leaves White River Creamery in Elkins as the state’s only dairy that sells directly to consumers. And, the dairy’s owners, the McCormick family, are looking to expand.
White River Creamery has started a Kickstarter campaign to purchase Honeysuckle Lane’s equipment, including a 400 gallon cheese vat. The additional equipment would allow the dairy to increase production by 10 times and to make aged, shelf-stable cheeses, like artisan cheddar, that can be shipped, said Tessa McCormick.
“We will be able to work with a distributor and already have accounts waiting for the product,” she said.
“We raise the goats, milk the goats, make the cheese and sell it. We also want to be able to educate the future generation about farming, small business and cheese. We buy local too. We buy all we can and pour back into the community.”
Opened in 2013, the Washington County creamery makes fresh chevre and goat cheeses from the milk of their own Nigerian dwarf goats, and uses local cow’s milk to produce fromage blanc, feta and ricotta. They also have a small aging room for gouda and bloomy rind cheeses.
Currently, they make about 250 pounds of cheese per week, McCormick said, and use a 30 gallon cheese vat.
Products are available at farmers markets around the state, and the McCormicks have been expanding into grocery stores including Harps, Ozark Natural Foods and Whole Foods from Bentonville to Little Rock.
“Since White River Creamery has a small aging room, we produce mainly fresh cheeses with no preservatives,” McCormick said. “Since we are small and local, we can vary our cheese to our region and make an artisan cheese unique to the Ozarks.”
McCormick said they are aiming to raise $42,250 via Kickstarter by Nov. 15. On Oct. 22, they had raised $1,600 toward their goal. Backer benefits include educational tours of the farm, cheese and naming rights to newborn goats.
The funding is also necessary to help keep the farm going, including caring for animals, during the slow winter months, which McCormick said often sees a 75 percent decrease in sales.
“Being the last direct-buy dairy in the state allows us to have relationships with our customers,” she said. “They can come out to the farm and meet our goats and see our facility. Supporting local farms, such as ours, gives back to the communities economically, through education and creativity.”