Valley Shepherd Creamery

Founded by two engineers with a passion for farming, Valley Shepherd Creamery originally started as a hobby farm with a few cows. Slowly transitioning to sheep, owners Eran Wajswol and Debra Van Sickle, realized that it was not sustainable to raise sheep for meat and decided to look for what was next. The couple took frequent trips to Europe and were always drawn to the wheels of cheese they found in open-air markets, particularly those hailing from the Pyrenees and Basque country. Through these trips, they learned about the right breed of sheep for milk, herd size and maintenance, cheese production methods and sustainable practices. Through years of trial and error and experimentation, Valley Shepherd Creamery finally felt confident in their cheese and have slowly expanded their operation and farm, while still maintaining the feel of a family-run operation. Today, the farm is 120 acres and is home to 800 sheep, 200 goats and 50 cows that are all pasture-grazed and help produce more than 30 different types of cheese!