Good Natured Family Farms’ Cheddar Pepper Farmhouse Cheese placed second in the Natural Flavored Cheese Division at the World Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest held by the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association in Madison, Wisconsin. Jason and Sheri Wiebe, handcraft this award winning farmhouse cheesed right on their farm. In order for a cheese to be called “farmhouse” the cheese must come from the milk of cows milked on the farm and cheese must be made on the farm. There is very little true ‘farmhouse’ cheese made today. However, many try and mimic the name using ‘farmstead’, farmer’s cheese, etc. The Wiebe’s use only Grade A milk and produce three types of cheese: Jalapeno Pepper Cheddar, Mild Cheddar, and Colby Cheese.

Jason, a third generation farmer, milks the family’s 100 cows in the barn his grandfather used. Sheri, who grew up on a farm in Canada, brought up the idea of Farmhouse cheese as a way of dealing with extra milk. Her family had made cheese when she was a young girl. They made their first batch on the kitchen stove. Jason recalls that it wasn’t the best he had ever tasted, so Sheri and Jason went in search of a better recipe. They visited Farmhouse Cheese production in Canada, but the recipe came from a nearby neighbor. The Wiebes have a USDA inspected plant devoted to their cheese processing.