Florida tourists can add local chevre and cheddar to the sunburn and shells they take home. They’ll join residents in enjoying goat, cow, and vegan cheeses made throughout the state. Cheesemakers range from a Miami cheesemaker who specializes in Italian cheeses, to the oldest established dairy near the Georgia border, to several goat cheesemakers. Florida is a dairy friendly state as the top milk producer in the Southeast United States, although the number of cheesemakers is tiny compared to the other two more populous states, California (383) and New York (85).
The State of Cheesemaking in Florida
Cheese traditions are slowly being established. Most of the cheese dairies and makers started their craft in this century. One cheesemaker started because her industry declined after 9/11. Another retired and started to make cheese on her family farm.
The pandemic and its economic blows upped the challenges that dairy farms and cheesemakers already face. Several small dairies switched to beef cattle or sold land to developers. But creativity and community saved the day. Catalyst Creamery founder Katie Jones participated in her first very successful market day in early March, 2020. Then the state shut down. “We had signed up for markets. Had all this inventory and scrambled to find a way to distribute for free as much cheese as people could take,” she said.
Pam Lunn of The Dancing Goat Dairy filed for non-profit status in 2020. Veterinary students from local schools train on the farm and volunteers help out during kidding season. The Dancing Goat also uses Airbnb Experiences for farm tours. “COVID was scary. We thought we would go under. Expenses didn’t change.” said Lunn. But one customer let her use his parking lot for food pickup. Another donated a brand new milk refrigerator when hers crashed. Front porches became impromptu sales counters for many farmers.
Florida’s cottage industry laws let entrepreneurs experiment with recipes and processes. They can sell products at farmers’ markets to get feedback and build a customer base, as long as they stay under a specific sales amount ($50k). Several of the dairies make raw milk cheeses from goat milk. This puts them under raw milk regulations, meaning they label all of their food ‘animal consumption.’
“Florida does the best job of permitting animal feed, allowing us to sell, more than any other state,” according to Joe Pietrangelo, owner of Glades Ridge Dairy. The ‘animal consumption’ designation keeps a lot of local cheeses out of traditional retail infrastructure. A groundswell of farmers’ markets all over the state provides cheesemakers with ways to sell their products as well as build a supportive community.
10 Florida Cheesemakers
Here are some of the established cheesemakers in Florida.
Circle Bar C Dairy Goats
Circle Bar C Dairy Goats agricultural cooperative started selling goat products in 2007. Their herd includes Nubian, Saanen and LaMancha dairy goats. They have a range of raw goat milk cheeses available, including family favorite chili pepper/garlic chevre. Owners Jane and Michael Conway primarily retail through farmers’ markets throughout the SE Florida/Lake Okeechobee region. They offer Goat Days and Goat Yoga, as well as Goat Husbandry workshops.
Dakin Dairy Farms
Dakin is one of the biggest farms on this list, with over $22 million in annual sales.They started selling cheese curds a few years ago, have a cafe on the farm, and host farm tours regularly, and have a dirt mining operation. Owners Karen and Jerry Dakin work well with the two other dairy farms in the region, since they’re owned by Jerry’s brother. Their dad started his dairy farm there in Myakka in 1973.
The Dancing Goat Dairy
The Dancing Goat Dairy started almost by accident. Owner Pam Lunn already had land and goats. When the industry she was employed in collapsed after 9/11, she worked her property while figuring out what to do next. ‘There was no plan’ she said. Dancing Goat produces feta and chevre, and is beloved for their fig’n’nuts chevre. Lunn finalized non-profit status for the dairy in 2020, allowing her to work with veterinary and culinary schools.
Glades Ridge Goat Dairy
Glades Ridge sells both goat and cow milk cheeses. Owner Joe Pietrangelo takes his milks, meat, and cheese to farmers’ markets several times a week. He has plain and flavored chevre, including the popular apricot & pepper style, and an aged cow milk farmstead cheese. He started milking goats in 1973 and got a doe goat kid as a present for his 25th birthday. Joe started selling cheese in 2006, when he retired.
Mozzarita
Miami’s Chef Vito Volpe’s handmade Italian cheeses are based in the traditions of the southern Adriatic Italian coast, where he’s from.He opened Mozzarita in 2005. They make mozzarella, burrata, ricotta, caciocavallo, and cacioricotta, a semi-hard, tangy cheese.
Sunshine Farms
The goats and sheep at Sunshine Farms provide milk for a wide selection of cheeses. There’s havarti, cheddar, pecorino, blue, feta, mozzarella, Jarlsburg Swiss, and a colby cheddar. Diana and Richard Frank had to change many of their business practices in 2020 as markets shut down. They pivoted to home deliveries, opened a farm store on sit, and downsized their herd.
Wainwright Dairy & Creamery
Wainwright is the oldest dairy on the list. Carl Wainwright established his first farm in 1958, went bust, and then bought the land across the street and started again. He believed that success meant controlling all facets of the business: growing feed, taking care of the animals, and owning the distribution. The creamery opened for retail in 2009. His children and grandchildren still work the farm. They offer eight types of cow’s milk cheese, including a smoky chipotle cheddar and a super creamy white cheddar.
Windmill Acres Farm & Goat Dairy
Windmill Acres is a pioneering goat micro-dairy, with feta, ricotta, mozzarella, and chevre cheeses. Established in 2010, they’ve been awarded ‘Innovative Farmer of the Year’ and is a Grade A goat dairy. Owners Alan and Vonnie Hart say Windmill Acres is ‘not just a business, it’s a passion.’
Winter Park Dairy
Cheesemaker David Green uses a different approach than other farmers. He sources his milk from local farmers, focusing his energies on his artisan cheese. Winter Park was the first Florida dairy licensed to make 100% natural raw cow’s milk artisan cheese. His Bleu Sunshine is made in small batches and aged 60 days. They also make a tasty tomme, cheddar, and baby Swiss. David and his wife Dawn sell directly to restaurants, resorts, and distributors, and at local farmers’ markets.
Catalyst Creamery
Is something cheese because of the ingredients or the process? Katie Jones thinks it’s the latter, which is why she calls her vegan hemp seed based product cheese (though the label spells it cheeze). But she understands when people disagree. Despite those differences, cheesemakers helped her understand the cheesemaking process. Starting a business in January of 2020 was unexpectedly challenging. Markets were cancelled and people stayed home. The unexpected free time gave the food scientist time to create new cheeses, including a spicy ghost pepper/fried onion cheese and a refreshing dill havarti.