Quiz time! Test your Guernsey cow knowledge: Association Edition
The American Guernsey Association was originally called the __________.
a. American Guernsey Cattle Club
b. American Guernsey Advocates
c. Golden Guernseys Association
d. Americans for Guernseys Club
Scroll past the image to find the answer!
If you guessed A) American Guernsey Cattle Club, then you’d be right! Before the name was changed, the American Guernsey Association was known as the American Guernsey Cattle Club.
Sustainability isn’t just environmental
As companies take strides toward boosting their sustainability efforts, farmers are left with the responsibility of making the changes to their businesses.
W.D. Hoard believed that to produce high-quality dairy products, farmers had to invest in keeping their soil and animals happy and healthy.
Today, dairy farmers see to this by continuously researching and implementing a variety of environmentally friendly operational innovations.
Take feed additives, for one. The practice of including nutritional supplements in cows’ meals is a long-adopted practice. Guernseys at the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm are fed a total mixed ration (TMR) of corn silage, haylage, ground corn, protein mix, whey, vitamins, and minerals.
Lately, research has been surfacing about the possible benefits of adding a particular type of seaweed to cows’ rations. Asparagopsis may help reduce methane that is emitted during the digestive process of cattle, according to a study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
However, as Amy Bentley writes in an article published in Hoard’s Dairyman, the science behind seaweed additives is not absolute. In terms of its relevance to reducing methane emissions, 65% of dairy nutritionists at the 2022 and 2023 Cornell Nutrition Conferences in Syracuse, N.Y., believe it to be at least somewhat legitimate — a decent, while not assured, statistic.
Regardless, no amount of research or professional opinion for or against any given finding accounts for the actual groundwork of applying changes on a farm. That responsibility falls to the farmer, and farmers rely on the consistent output of their operation to continue running their business. If adaptation costs supersede daily undertakings, implementing the practice will not be financially sustainable for the farm.
“The risk of making big mistakes and losing a lot of money with some major changes or new types of machinery or innovative fertilizers and feed additives out of a knowledge-lack is very high,” said dairy farmer Florian Stummler in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“It also takes more steps and time to prepare the mixed ration with various additives,” Stummler continued, “as well as to plan the mating of the cows, which follows different, more detailed breeding objectives. And almost everywhere, the documentation effort has been increased or even been added to.”
The dialogue surrounding dairy’s ecological footprint is not solely about problem-solving, then. It is about meeting farmers where they’re at and understanding that truly sustainable dairying requires an approach that considers business, livelihood, and generation as much as it does climate and animal.
Mars and other companies have made a commitment to compensate their dairy farmers in alignment with the changes they are making, thus providing financial support for new and challenging undertakings. With continued implementation of programs like this, efforts to make the industry more sustainable will see greater success.
Our own Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery cheese embodies W.D. Hoard’s commitment to well-rounded agriculture. Indulge rest-assured of the process by which it came to be.
How to consume cheese in autumn
(Yes, it’s possible to be doing it wrong.)
Nothing like some cheese and wine in that crisp, autumn air.
September is a month of harvesting, and, whether your at-home harvest is apples, raspberries, tomatoes, or seasonal home décor, odds are it would be enhanced by a snack pairing transcendent in its universal appeal.
How about, I don’t know, cheese?
What else checks as many boxes? Flavorful, textured, nutritious, diverse, global — cheese’s closest competitor is, perhaps, coffee, and even coffee is, sometimes, cheese.
Basically, if someone doesn’t go for cheese, they can’t be trusted (looking at you, Rachel from Hoyme Hall floor three).
Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin recommends highlighting cheeses that are savory, aged, and nutty during the autumn months. These three deceivingly broad flavor profiles, when paired with seasonal sweater weather foods, act as bridges connecting the snacks’ strengths and contrasts.
For instance, a smooth Gouda would pair well with candied pecans, an aged Cheddar might compliment a freshly picked apple (try Honeycrisp or Pink Lady), and a creamy Butterkase cheese may be your red grape vine’s best friend.
Feeling adventurous? Plan a trailblazing cheese pie for your upcoming Friendsgiving, or sign up for a fall-themed charcuterie board class, offered around the country. (Yes, there are legitimate paid courses meant to teach hopeless aesthetic arrangement folks like myself how to present cheese and meat in a manner worthy of an Instagram reel.)
For guaranteed palate satisfaction, check out Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s selection of cheeses, linked accordingly above. And be sure to share your personal recipe and pairing findings with us.
Here’s to hoping for cooler days to come, and for occasions that welcome experiments in cheese tasting (as if I need an excuse).
Quiz time! Test your Guernsey cow knowledge: US debut edition
The Guernsey cow breed made its U.S. debut in ______.
a. 1912
b. 2010
c. 1840
d. 1818
Scroll past the image to find the answer!
If you guessed C. 1840, then you know your Guernseys! The Guernsey cow breed made its U.S. debut in 1840.
A founder after fondue’s own heart
The man behind France’s first cheese museum shares his expertise about the history and singularity of French cheese.
Scheduling an interview across time zones is easier said than done. Scheduling an interview across time zones with someone who is the official cheese and wine tasting supervisor of the summer 2024 Paris Olympics — well, forget it.
But if there’s one thing Musée du fromage’s Pierre Brisson will always make time for, it’s cheese: serving it, talking about it, making it — his life revolves around the product, and that includes carving time out for an interview with a burgeoning dairy expert (me).
When I spoke to Brisson, it was over a 12 a.m. Central Standard Time video call. Brisson came into the frame with a wide grin; he was enjoying a brisk, sun-filled morning in the garden of his home outside of Paris.
Within the first twenty seconds of bon soir’s and bonjour’s, I knew him to be a man of singular enthusiasm. He spoke of cheese the way one might hail their pure-blooded Labrador or tout a Yale-bound nephew. He spoke of cheese as if it were the most delightful part of his life. And, lucky for us, it is.
Brisson began his French cuisine quest as a vigneron, or winemaker, and later developed an affinity for cheesemaking. Upon entering the field, he noticed a gap in public education about the cheesemaking craft, specifically about French cheese’s storied history and regional departures.
Because France is so unique a country in that it contains a myriad of climates (oceanic, continental, mountain, and Mediterranean), the kind of cheeses that are produced from north to south and east to west are magnificently varied.
“The diversity of climates was a challenge for early cheesemakers,” Brisson said. “But it made possible many different kinds, the kinds we have today.”
Musée du fromage (France’s first-ever museum dedicated to the history and making of French cheese, created and run by Brisson) details this early cheesemaking trial and error in its exhibition room.
It all started with fifth-century monasteries. The monks needed a substitute for contraband meat — something that provided comparable nutrition. Curdled milk, with its high protein content, became a popular alternative.
“They recorded their recipes for cheese in documents passed between monasteries,” Brisson said. He has visited some of these monasteries himself. “In the original documents, you can see that the type of cheese depended on the ideal way to make it in the different climates where the monks lived.”
For instance, he continued, “In a flat region, where people could travel easily, it was ideal to make and sell wet cheese. They could sell the strained water, too. In the mountains, where travel is difficult, it made sense to strain the curd and make a hard cheese, which would preserve well.”
Brisson and Musée du fromage honor these early French cheesemakers by showcasing cheese that is made by producers who have the craft’s integrity and the product’s purity in mind.
The combined efforts of educators like Brisson and farmers like the ones whose cheese occupies a tray at the museum mean a future for the profession that sees continued respect for over 500 years of artisanship.
See the result of this history-making museum’s launch for yourself on the (once pasture-covered and thus “Cow Island” dubbed) Île Saint-Louis in le coeur de Paris, or opt for ordering equally lauded American-made cheese at www.hoardscreamery.com.
France’s first cheese museum puts producers in center stage
At Paris’s Musee du fromage, locals and foreigners can learn about the unique history and varieties of French cheese.
Steps from the Notre Dame cathedral, on land once lauded for its graze-friendly grasses, le Musée du fromage stands as a living lighthouse for the future, adorned in vision and bejeweled by layers of the past.
As France’s first and only museum dedicated to cheese and cheesemaking, Musée du fromage — newborn to the city of love — has its work cut out for it. But if there’s one thing Parisians (nay, everyone) loves, it’s tastefully curated curd, and that’s exactly what Musée du fromage celebrates. Its mission is not only to educate the public about French cheese and its history, but, too, to champion the livelihood of dairy producers across the country.
Museum owner and cheese and wine expert Pierre Brisson sees this attraction’s inception as an opportunity rich with purpose.
“I want to bring the love and understanding of cheese to the public,” Brisson said. “I want people to leave [the museum] thinking about France’s incredible regions and the producers and farmers who live there.”
France is already well known for its cuisine — de la ratatouille et du vin de Bordeaux, anyone? — but little is known about the diversity and particulars of its cheese.
The country contains quite a unique confluence of climates: oceanic, Mediterranean, mountain, and continental. Each provides singular environmental conditions under which food may be prepared, so, by nature of existing under these distinct conditions, French cheese possesses a wide variety of tastes and textures simply by being the product of vastly differing regions.
This fact is highlighted in the museum’s exhibition room, which includes a wall-borne history of how French cheese, in all its variants, came to be. Also included in this space is an interactive screen upon which one may take a quiz determining “what kind of cheese they are.”
Following the exhibition is a small but functional creamery where visitors can view cheesemakers at work in real time, every day of the week. Then, guests are led by their guide to a cheese tasting room, where a variety of French cheese awaits topping a culinary favorites list.
The tour also includes information on over 300 French dairy producers, including farm locations, so guests may further their learning. Ideally, for Brisson, the museum and its encouragement of continued dairy education will inspire a whole new generation of cheesemakers.
“I want people to leave the experience thinking, ‘Now I want to make cheese,’” he said. “There isn’t a lot of advertisement about the profession.”
But why? There are multitudinous national education efforts about French wine. Wineries themselves invite guests to visit their grounds and taste test on-site.
For dairy producers, Brisson said. It’s different. Farmers aren’t likely to invite tourists directly to their farm because animal care and land cultivation has to be carefully monitored and protected. One’s operation is under the inherent risk of whoever is there at any given time, so it carries that producers don’t play host.
This is why a museum like the one Brisson has built from scratch is so important: It provides a window where there isn’t one. It acts as binoculars into the world of dairy farming and cheesemakers, while encouraging further support and appreciation for the people and animals who bring milk and cheese to the table.
If you find yourself in Paris, pay the place a visit. If it’s anything like my globe-trotting sister described it to be on her stop along the Olympic spectator way, you won’t be disappointed.
In the meantime, check out Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s selection. It may not be French, but it stands the test of excellence.
Summer has the monopoly on dairy appreciation
Frozen yogurt
For those of us who live in a region defined by its seasons, there is no better time of the year to indulge in all things dairy than summer.
Chilled smoothies, iced coffees, frosted milkshakes, ice cream cones, ice cream sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cakes…beastly hot days call for beastly good snacks.
And if the heat weren’t incentive enough to consume double the food group for three months out of the year, June is National Dairy Month, June 4 is National Cheese Day, July is National Ice Cream Month, and August is National Goat Cheese Month.
I’m convinced: I have to stop for frozen yogurt on the way home. The national calendar catalog says so!
But with August’s end just around the corner and the beckoning of autumn a song in spreading breezes, is it too late to pay homage to the summer-dominating industry that is dairy? We think not.
Dairy products are just about everywhere, and they’re ready at hand to enhance a late summer gathering.
Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s selection of pure Guernsey milk cheeses pay tribute to, as W.D. Hoard put it, the foster mother of the human race. If you’re looking for all-around quality cheese board staples, look no further.
If mixed milk cheeses are your thing, search for creameries in your area whose curd comes from cow, sheep, and goat milks. Some creameries, such as LaClare Creamery in Malone, Wis., specialize in goat milk products, making them a perfect destination for the August’s chèvre theme.
Looking to improve your morning cold brew with additional health benefits? Top the glass off with a splash of value-added milk. Not only will it mean less digestive upset for lactose-intolerant folks, but it may get you closer to your protein goals.
Eager for a bowl of traditional, slow-churned ice cream? Take a last-minute summer vacay to Cincinnati, Ohio, home of Graeter’s Ice Cream, to experience the dessert at its finest. Or, you can order your favorite flavor from their online store.
Dairy comes in all shapes and sizes, and it is nutritionally sound every day of the year. But while the food industry spotlight is on the cow and her cousins, let us celebrate what goes into making that cheese board possible. Let us nod to the farmers and makers around the world who make monstrously hot months like these more bearable.
Who knows? Maybe one day there will be a National Butter and Sour Cream month. With dairy, the possibilities are endless.
Quiz time! Test your Guernsey cow knowledge, temperament edition
Guernsey cows have a generally _____ temperament.
a. Volatile
b. Aggressive
c. Mild
d. Irritable
Scroll past the photo to get the answer!
Guernsey cows at the Hoard's Dairyman farm
If you guessed C. Mild, you’re right! Guernsey cows generally have a mild temperament.
Cheddar nuggets galore
County fairs spotlight dairy farmers and Wisconsin cheese.
Cheddar nuggets with ranch.
Summer is for county fairs. Draft horse shows, carnival rides, magic shows, fresh squeezed lemonade, log rolling — the enormous week-long gatherings represent what it is to let loose in the United States: terrible fun, fried food, and exorbitantly priced, winner-never games.
If you don’t go to the fair, you’re likely missing out on a quintessential American right of passage. For Midwest folks, you’re also forfeiting a chance to experience cheese curds at their finest.
Hot, stringy, melt-in-your-mouth…fried county fair Wisconsin cheese curds are about as iconic as they come. Just ask Belvidere, Illinois’, 2024 Boone County Fair attendees. Some of the most populous lines across the grounds were those for vendors advertising “Wisconsin cheese.”
Dairy barn at the Boone County Fair
A (purely educational) taste test of my own halfway through a day-long fair excursion confirmed that the acclaimed “cheddar nuggets” were, in fact, an experiment in perfection. If their chewy plumpness and savory center weren’t enough, the crisp edge of their exterior sealed the tastebud deal. Among my party, they were the night’s clear winner.
But dairy at the fair is not limited to decadence. A quick jaunt down the dirt road from where our senses took root lay the designated dairy barn, where attendees could walk past stall after stall of beautifully groomed dairy cows.
“They get bathed and blown out before their showing,” said 4-H alumni Becky Schroll. “The best cow gets an award.”
“Best” can mean a set of criteria ranging from rump and hooves to legs and udders. A judge examines each entry and determines which meets these requirements with the most precision. The shows aren’t just for awards, either.
“Local companies support 4-H members by purchasing shown livestock at an auction,” Schroll said.
In the barn, each and every farmer’s face told the story of dedicated agricultural labor. Exhausted family members napped beside their stalls in touching solidarity with the animals they care for.
It’s easy, I realized, to forget about the people who make possible our daily nutritional servings. Basket of cheese curds in hand, stunning heifers on either side of the path ahead, I paused to take it all in. I thought about how lucky we all were to bear witness to the great service that is dairy farming.
Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery cheeses may not come battered and fried, but they can be made to be so. Peruse our selection and decide on your own unique path into the world of quality dairy products.
Quiz time! Time to test your Guernsey cow knowledge.
Q: Guernseys weigh about ______ pounds at maturity.
A. 800 - 1,000
B. 1,200 - 1,300
C. 1,800 - 2,000
D. 500 - 700
Scroll past the image for the answer!
If you guessed B. 1,200 to 1,300 pounds, you would be right! Guernsey cows are large animals, but they’re not the largest dairy cow breed.