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Overview Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy, one of approximately 50 farmstead cheesemakers in America, has been producing farmstead and artisanal goat cheeses in Colorado since 1992. It has received numerous awards over the years from the American Cheese Society and the World Cheese Contest. Haystack cheeses are on sale at restaurants and retail stores in 30 states, including Wild Oats, Whole Foods, King Soopers and Safeway. Haystack Mountain is the last remaining dairy in Boulder County, which once was home to 16 cow dairies producing milk for the local market. Boulder County moving plans. Haystack
Mountain also plans to relocate its goat herd and milking facility
to a 32-acre land parcel at 63rd Street and Oxford Road northwest of
Niwot, Colo. in spring of 2007. Its cheesemaking operation, now located at its original Niwot
farm and at a facility on Colorado Ave. in Longmont, will gradually relocate
to the new farm in mid-2008. The 32-acre parcel is part of 80 acres that
Boulder County purchased for its Open Space program on March 31, 2006.
Under a unique arrangement intended to preserve undeveloped land and
to foster local agriculture, Boulder County sold Haystack Mountain the
32 acres and will lease the parcel’s remaining 48 acres to the
company. The new Haystack Mountain dairy will house state-of-the-art
milking facilities and a single facility producing all of the company's
cheeses, which include fresh chèvre, feta, two fresh-ripened cheeses
and three aged raw-milk cheeses. The move to the new property will
also enable Haystack Mountain to gain USDA "certified organic" status,
since its goats will have access to grazing land, a key requirement for
organic certification. |
Certified Humane® Label Awarded to Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy
HERNDON, Va., Nov 2007—The Certified Humane label was awarded by the
nonprofit Humane Farm Animal Care to Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy, a leading
farmstead and artisanal cheesemaker based in Colorado.
The Certified Humane Raised and Handled label assures consumers that a meat, poultry,
egg or dairy product has been produced according to Humane Farm Animal Care's (HFAC)
precise standards for humane farm animal treatment. Animals must receive a nutritious
diet without antibiotics or hormones and must be raised with shelter, resting areas
and space sufficient to support natural behavior. Since HFAC's program was unveiled
in May 2003, more than 60 companies have been certified.
Former college professor Jim Schott started Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy 14 years ago
with five goats on his seven-acre farm near Boulder, Colo. Haystack Mountain now produces
award-winning fresh and aged goat cheeses from the milk of a mixed herd of more than 400
goats. Its cheeses are distributed to grocery stores, specialty cheese stores and
restaurants in 30 states. For more information, visit www.haystackgoatcheese.com.
"Haystack Mountain has a reputation for producing outstanding cheeses, and we have
certified that their goats are raised in humane conditions," said Adele Douglass, HFAC
founder and executive director.
HFAC's Animal Care Standards were developed by a veritable "Who's Who" of national and
international animal scientists and farm-animal welfare experts. Producer compliance
with the HFAC standards is verified through annual on-site visits by HFAC's third-party
inspectors.
HFAC is a national nonprofit organization supported by the American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), The Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS), regional and local animal protection organizations, foundations and
individuals. More information is available at HFAC's website,
www.certifiedhumane.org.
Haystack Mountain Offers Cheese and Wine Tasting Class
NIWOT,
Colo., Oct. 17, 2007—Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy will host nationally
known cheese expert and author Laura Werlin at its Niwot farm on Tuesday, Oct.
30, from noon to 2 p.m. for a cheese tasting and signing of her just-published
book, Laura Werlin’s Cheese Essentials: An Insider’s Guide to
Buying and Serving Cheese. Cheeses from Haystack Mountain and noted California
artisanal cheesemakers will be served. Members of the public are welcome to
visit with Laura and the Haystack Mountain goats.
Three American Cheese Society awards for 2007
Aug. 6, 2007 — The American Cheese Society gave awards
to three cheeses made by Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy at its annual conference
last weekend in Burlington, Vt.
Haystack Mountain’s Haystack Peak, a fresh-ripened cheese, won a first-place
award. Our Red Cloud, a raw-milk farmstead cheese, won a second-place
award and our Chèvre en Marinade, fresh chèvre marinated in olive
oil, herbs and garlic, won a third-place award. More than 1,200 cheeses
were entered into the American Cheese Society’s annual competition. Past
awards
Tim Overlie Named Haystack Mountain CEO
Nov. 30, 2006 — Tim Overlie, a 23-year veteran of Wild Oats Markets, will become Chief Executive Officer of Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy in December 2006.
Overlie will oversee the 14-year-old artisanal dairy’s expansion to a new 80-acre farm in Boulder County and the startup of a new cheesemaking facility in Ada, Okla. His management background in specialty foods and natural-foods retailing will assist Haystack Mountain in expanding the production, marketing and sales of its award-winning cheeses.
For the past three years, Overlie has been Cheese & Specialty Category Manager for the more than 100 Wild Oats stores across the U.S. His earlier years with Wild Oats included positions as store director, regional director and purchasing manager. He held various management positions with Alfalfa’s Markets over a 12-year period prior to its merger with Wild Oats.
“Tim brings to Haystack Mountain his strong knowledge of specialty cheeses
and a unique retail-industry perspective. He has all the qualifications
to lead the company as we continue to grow,” said Jim Schott, founder
and current CEO of Haystack Mountain, who plans to “semi-retire” during
2007.
Boulder County Helping Haystack Acquire New Grazing Land
March 1, 2006 -- The Boulder County Commissioners voted March 1 2006 to team up with Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy in acquiring an 80-acre parcel of land near 63rd Street in unincorporated Boulder County. The plan, as revealed at that meeting, is for Haystack to acquire 31 acres for $650,000 and move our goat herd there. The county and city open space departments would then split the $950,000 cost of buying the remaining 49 acres, and would lease pasture access to Haystack.
Haystack Peak in National Distribution
Fall, 2004 — The Haystack Peak, a fresh-ripened goat cheese shaped like a pyramid, is being distributed nationally to natural foods stores and specialty cheese shops as of Fall 2004.
Produced by one of America's leading farmstead goat cheese companies, Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy in Niwot, Colo., the Haystack Peak has previously been sold only to Colorado restaurants, in select Whole Foods stores throughout the Southwest, in specialty cheese stores in Northern California and Chicago and at Colorado farmer's markets. It has also been available for mail-order through Amazon.com or Haystack Mountain's website, www.haystackgoatcheese.com.
Haystack's founder, Jim Schott, created the first Haystack Peaks in spring of 2000 and tested various recipes and aging methods before offering them for sale at Colorado farmer's markets in 2002. The Haystack Peak has a creamy interior and a bloomy-rind, mold-ripened surface that gives it character and complexity. It is made with and without a layer of vegetable ash beneath its snowy white surface. It ripens from the outside in, like a French Bucheron, rather than from the inside out. The American artisan cheese authority and writer Laura Werlin uses Haystack Peaks in her wine and cheese pairing seminars throughout the United States.
In producing Haystack Peaks, milk from Haystack Mountain's own goats is pasteurized and cultured with a plant-based rennet, then inoculated with a strain of penicillin. Once curds are formed, they are drained in cheesecloth bags for about three hours. The cheese is then hand-ladled into molds and drained for about two days. Each Peak is sprinkled with kosher salt and ash, then aged for 12 days.
Haystack Peaks are wrapped in a waxed breathable paper designed to preserve them for up to eight weeks. They are best stored in this wrapping and should be brought to room temperature before they are consumed. With age, the Peaks' center becomes firmer, while the cheese under the rind becomes more viscous and the flavors intensify.
Haystack Peaks are best served with fruity white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürtztraminer, Chenin Blanc and Reisling; red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir, walnuts, almonds and olives, figs and other dried fruits and alcohol-plumped dried fruits.
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Sign on the door at Haystack's new Creamery in Longmont, Colo. |
Haystack Opens Second Creamery,
Expands Distribution Beyond Colorado
April 27, 2004 — To meet increasing demand for its products in Colorado and throughout the United States, award-winning farmstead cheesemaker Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy today opened a second creamery in Longmont, Colo.
The new facility will enable Haystack Mountain to double production of its goat cheese products to serve new markets in San Francisco, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and Louisiana. The company expects to have additional new distribution throughout the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic states within the next few months. Other markets targeted for expansion include Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Austin, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
The new creamery, complete with faster and better processing and packaging equipment, will increase the shelf-life of Haystack’s award-winning Boulder Chèvre, a fresh Montrachet-style goat cheese that is widely distributed in Whole Foods, Wild Oats, King Soopers, Vitamin Cottage and to independent retailers. Haystack Mountain cheeses are also on the menus of approximately 80 Colorado restaurants.
Increased efficiencies in Haystack Mountain’s chèvre production will allow it to focus more resources and space at the original dairy in Niwot on its aged goat cheese products, such as the Haystack Peak, a pyramid-shaped fresh-ripened goat cheese, and its Queso de Mano, an aged raw-milk Spanish-stye cheese. Haystack has other aged goat cheeses under development.
“There is a lot of interest in artisanal cheeses all over the U.S.,” said Jim Schott, who founded Haystack Mountain 13 years ago. “We felt the time was right to expand our capacity in order to make our cheeses available outside of Colorado.”
Haystack Founder Shares Expertise in South
Africa
Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy Founder Jim Schott and his wife Carol have completed from their second trip to Somerset East, South Africa, where they are helping to develop a commercial goat dairy. The Schotts volunteer their time on the project, which is sponsored by Land O’Lakes, Inc. in a cooperative agreement with United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The goal of the project is to aid South Africa’s rural black population by promoting development of viable agribusiness cooperatives and associations. The Schotts are using their expertise from 11 years at Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy, one of America’s leading farmstead goat cheese companies, to plan and develop a commercial goat dairy and cheesemaking enterprise. The farmstead goat dairy and cheesemaking business is one of several agricultural projects being developed as part of a 4,000-acre farm purchased by the South African government and administered by the Zama Ukaphilia trust.
"The program is unique in South Africa because it is part of the government’s program to return land to the indigenous population of South Africa," said Jim Schott. "Rather than just turning over the land to people, we’re helping to develop a sustainable farm that will protect the land and generate income. It’s a way of ensuring that lands will be put to good use and benefit local people economically."While in South Africa, the Schotts worked to develop a viable, healthy dairy goat herd, design and consult on the construction of a sanitary commercial cheesemaking creamery and help develop the first goat cheese products. They will return to South Africa in Spring 2004 to continue working on the project. The first cheese products produced by the dairy will be similar to Boulder Chevre, Haystack Mountain’s flagship product, and will be sold as a premium goat cheese in South Africa under the brand name of Bosberg Farm Fresh Fromage.
