Bleugrass Chevre: A Goat Cheese Farm Tour

This weekend the University of Kentucky Slow Foods group visited a local goat cheese farm, Bleugrass Chevre. Susan Miller, runs her farm just 20 miles outside Lexington in Clark County.

We were greeted by all the baby goats when we arrived.

We then met Susan and she took us to her kitchen and told us how she makes the cheese. First, the goats are milked in the morning and in the evening. She does it all herself! She also keeps her place very organized and clean. She said while she isn’t a control or neat freak in her house, she is when it comes to her kitchen and her goats. I’d say this is a good thing, and it shows in the quality of her cheese!

She has a machine which can milk two goats at a time, but she tries to milk by hand as much as she can because she finds it’s more relaxing and quieter. She said the goats actually love to be milked because they know they get to eat afterwards! After they are milked, the milk goes into an agitator, and then to a pasteurizer. Here the cheese is put into cheese cloth bags, where it is allowed to release whey and to dry. It is then put into a refrigerator.

She had some cheese for us to try…SO GOOD! It was very soft, nearly like a sour cream spread, but only 100 times better. She said the hardest part about her business is keeping up with demand! She said she has no problem selling what she has and it often sells out at Good Foods Coop, our local cooperative.

Afterwards we went to the barn to hang out with the goats and feed them cookies.

We and the kids were having a blast. The kids enjoyed nibbling on my shoelaces and my shirt buttons.

Susan takes good care of her goats. She even has names for all of them. She says they know their names too!

Paul had fun since it reminded him of when he spent last summer making sheep’s cheese in the middle of France!

He was really loving getting some scratches!

Marianne holding a really cute kid!

Bleugrass Chevre can be found at the Good Foods Coop for sale, as well as the Lexington Farmer’s Market. Susan also says they will be selling dairy-free sorbet this summer. Thank you for allowing us to come to your beautiful farm and enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon!