This Nebraska Farm And Creamery Lets You Taste Fresh Cheese Right Where It’s Made
A baby giraffe at a city zoo once drank milk from a family goat farm. That detail alone tells you this farm runs on more than routine.
The same farm milks its own goats and turns that milk into cheese, yogurt and Grade A milk. One of its cheeses has won first in its class at a national competition.
Twice.
I like how everything here connects. Whey left over from cheesemaking goes to the hogs, and hoop houses stretch the vegetable season for months.
Flowers grow near the herbs, and hens handle the eggs. It’s a working Nebraska farm with a creamery right in the middle of it.
I believe places like this are rarer than they should be. So how does one small farm at the edge of a busy city keep goats, pigs, chickens and award-winning cheese all going at once?
A Farm And A Creamery Sharing One Patch Of Ground
Thirty-four acres doesn’t sound like much room for a dairy, a vegetable operation, a hog herd and a flock of hens. Shadow Brook Farm & Dutch Girl Creamery squeezes all of that onto the southwest edge of Lincoln, and somehow it works.
The farm side grows produce, flowers and herbs, and it raises animals. The creamery side, known as Dutch Girl Creamery, turns goat milk into cheese, yogurt and bottled milk.
That pairing is the whole point. Most cheese you buy in a grocery store traveled a long way from the animals that made the milk.
Here, the goats and the cheese plant sit on the same property. You can stand in one spot and see where your snack started its day.
The place is owned and run by Kevin Loth and Charuth Van Beuzekom. They call themselves stewards of the land, and the setup backs that up.
Nothing about it feels like a theme park version of a farm. It’s a real working operation that happens to welcome the public.
For Nebraskans who like knowing exactly where dinner comes from, that’s a pretty great combination.
Roots Planted Back In 1997
Long before farm-to-table became a menu buzzword, this farm was already putting vegetables on Lincoln tables. Shadow Brook Farm got its start in 1997.
For 16 straight years, the farm held organic certification. That’s a long stretch of paperwork, inspections and patience.
The farm isn’t currently certified organic. Its practices, though, have stayed largely the same, which is the part that actually matters at the dinner table.
The crew skips GMO seeds. They also avoid chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides that aren’t approved under organic standards.
Why keep going that way without the official label? The farm ties it to a bigger goal of building a healthier regional food system.
That kind of steady commitment shows up in the soil over time. Ground treated well for decades tends to keep giving back.
Dutch Girl Creamery joined the story in 2006, when goat milk and cheese became part of the mix. So the farm had nearly a decade of growing behind it before the first cheese was made.
It’s a good reminder that this place didn’t pop up overnight. It grew, one season at a time.
The Goats Behind Every Wheel Of Cheese
Every great cheese has a backstory, and at Dutch Girl Creamery, the backstory has hooves. The farm keeps its own goat herd and has produced Grade A goat milk since 2006.
Charuth Van Beuzekom heads up the creamery. She turns that fresh goat milk into artisan cheese and yogurt right on the farm.
Grade A is a big deal in the dairy world. It means the milk meets strict standards for fluid milk, not just milk headed for processing.
Goat milk also brings its own personality to cheese. Fresh goat cheeses tend to taste bright and tangy, which is why they show up so often on salads and crackers.
Families who stop by the farm can spot goats along with pigs and chickens. It’s a treat for kids who think milk starts in a carton.
A grandparent with a grandkid in tow has an easy afternoon here. Animals, cheese and fresh air make a hard combination to beat.
Just remember these goats are working animals on a working farm. They’re the reason the cheese case stays full, so give them the respect a coworker deserves.
Rosa Maria And Her Two National Ribbons
First place in its class at the American Cheese Society Judging & Competition is a serious honor. Rosa Maria, a Dutch Girl Creamery cheese, pulled it off in 2015 and again in 2018.
That’s not a local county fair ribbon. The American Cheese Society competition draws cheesemakers from across North America.
Rosa Maria is an aged, Spanish-style cheese that gets brined in salt. Think firm, savory and built to be sliced and shared.
Winning once could be luck. Winning twice, three years apart, suggests the craft behind it is the real deal.
All of it comes out of the farm’s own handcrafted cheesemaking plant. No giant factory line, just careful work done in small batches.
For Nebraskans, there’s a little extra pride baked in here. A cheese made at the edge of Lincoln went up against the best and came home on top.
Bring a wedge to a family gathering and see how long it lasts. Mentioning the national wins is optional, but it does make for good conversation over the cheese board.
Lavender, Feta And Other Reasons To Linger At The Cheese Case
Lavender in cheese sounds a little wild until you try it. Dutch Girl Creamery makes a lavender-infused goat cheese, and it’s exactly the kind of thing people hunt for.
The lineup goes well past one floral surprise. La Luna Crema and feta are part of the mix, along with a Greek dip.
Yogurt rounds out the goat side of things. It’s all made from the farm’s own goat milk.
Then the creamery does something extra. It also makes cow cheeses and cow yogurt using rich Guernsey milk from Beauty View Farm in Wahoo, Nebraska.
Guernsey milk is known for its golden color and creamy body. Pairing it with a skilled cheesemaker is a smart move.
So the cheese case covers both goat lovers and folks who prefer cow dairy. Nobody in the car has to sit out.
A soft cheese with fruit and crackers makes an easy snack plate. Feta lands nicely on a summer salad, and the Greek dip practically begs for pita.
Choosing just one might be the hardest part of the visit. Good luck with that.
Hoop Houses That Keep The Vegetables Coming
Nebraska winters aren’t exactly kind to tomatoes and lettuce. Shadow Brook Farm gets around that with hoop houses, which stretch the vegetable season to nearly ten months a year.
Hoop houses are simple tunnels covered in plastic. They trap warmth and protect crops from wind, letting greens grow when open fields can’t.
Farmer Ian Richmond manages the vegetable production. He keeps a wide variety of seasonal crops rolling through the year.
That variety shifts with the calendar. Early greens give way to summer produce, which hands off to fall harvests.
Cut flowers grow here too, adding color to farmers market tables. Fresh herbs and garden transplants round out the plant side of the farm.
Those transplants are a nice bonus for home gardeners. You can take home starter plants grown on the same ground as the farm’s own crops.
Picking up a bouquet with your cheese feels a little fancy. It’s also a simple way to bring a bit of the farm home.
Ten months of fresh vegetables in Nebraska takes real planning. The hoop houses quietly do a lot of heavy lifting.
Hogs, Hens And A Clever Use For Whey
Cheesemaking leaves behind a lot of whey, the watery liquid that separates from the curds. On this farm, the hogs are happy to take it off everyone’s hands.
That whey helps supplement the feed for the farm’s hogs. It’s a neat loop where one part of the operation helps feed another.
The hogs are raised on pasture. The result is pasture-raised pork sold right alongside the cheese and vegetables.
Laying hens handle a different job. They supply chicken eggs, another everyday staple you can pick up from the farm.
Put it all together and you’ve got a farm that wastes very little. Goats feed the creamery, the creamery feeds the hogs, and the soil feeds the vegetables.
Diversified farms like this used to be common across Nebraska. Plenty of grandparents remember a farmyard with a little bit of everything.
Seeing that model still running near a growing city is a refreshing sight. It’s practical, old-fashioned thinking with a modern touch.
Kids especially enjoy putting the puzzle together. Once they see the pigs, the whole system suddenly makes sense.
A Comeback Story After The 2022 Fire
Few things test a family farm like a fire. In 2022, flames hit Shadow Brook Farm & Dutch Girl Creamery, damaging the cheese plant and farm store.
Kevin Loth and Charuth Van Beuzekom chose to rebuild. Both the cheese plant and the farm store went back up.
Cheesemaking didn’t simply stop in the meantime. Production moved temporarily to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Food Innovation Center.
That’s a very Nebraska kind of teamwork. The state university stepping in to keep a local creamery going says a lot about community ties.
The plan was always to bring the cheese back home to the farm. A rebuilt plant made that possible.
Comeback stories hit differently when they involve a place people have shopped at for years. Some Lincoln families have bought vegetables here for nearly two decades.
Losing a cheese plant and store at once would knock most small businesses flat. This farm treated it as a chapter, not an ending.
Knowing that history adds a little meaning to every purchase. That wedge of cheese carries a story of grit along with its flavor.
Milk For A Baby Giraffe Named Kay
Not every farm can say its milk helped raise a giraffe. Shadow Brook Farm & Dutch Girl Creamery supplied milk to help feed a baby giraffe named Kay at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo.
Yes, a giraffe. Lincoln kids visiting the zoo had no idea their neighbors down the road were part of the story.
It’s the kind of detail that makes people stop scrolling. Goat farm, giraffe calf, same city.
That connection shows how a small farm can matter in unexpected ways. Good milk from healthy animals turned out to be useful well beyond the cheese plant.
Community runs through a lot of what this farm does. It sells close to home, works with nearby farms, and teams up with local institutions.
The zoo link is simply the most fun example. It’s also a great fact to share at the dinner table.
Next time you’re at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, you’ll know one extra bit of local trivia. The giraffe story starts on a farm at the southwest edge of town.
Honestly, it might be the best farm brag in Nebraska.
Four Markets And A Farm Store To Choose From
Can’t make it out to the farm? The farm comes to you, at four farmers markets across Lincoln and Omaha.
Market booths carry the cheese, vegetables and more. Plenty of Omaha shoppers first meet Dutch Girl Creamery at a market table.
The Aksarben area is one spot where the cheese has turned up. Seasonal markets, including holiday ones, give city folks another chance to stock up.
Sampling at a booth is a great way to learn the lineup. The farm crew knows the cheeses well and can explain how they’re made.
The other option is the farm store, which sits right on the property. Buying at the source is part of the fun.
You’ll find the store at 2201 W Denton Rd, Lincoln, NE 68523. It’s an easy drive from most of Lincoln and a manageable day trip from Omaha.
Shopping either way keeps money with a local family farm. That supports the wider Nebraska food economy too.
Pack a cooler bag before you go. Cheese and fresh produce ride home happier when they stay cool.
The Flex Farm-Share That Lets You Pick
Traditional farm-share boxes can feel like a surprise party you didn’t plan. Shadow Brook Farm does it differently with its Flex-style Farm-share.
Members prepay for the season and receive credits. They spend those credits on the items they actually want.
Options include vegetables, goat dairy and cow dairy. Pork and flowers are on the list too.
That flexibility is a big deal for busy households. No more staring at a mountain of kohlrabi, wondering what to do with it.
The farm-share runs from late spring through the end of the year. That covers the heart of the growing season plus the fall harvest.
Some members have stuck with the farm for many years. It becomes part of the family routine, like a standing date with fresh food.
Prepaying also helps the farm plan ahead. Farmers get steady support early in the season, when costs pile up before harvest.
It’s a quiet win for everybody involved. You eat well, and a Nebraska family farm keeps doing what it does best.
Planning your plate has rarely felt this easy.
Bring A Jar And An Appetite For Real Farm Life
One small tip saves a lot of hassle. If you plan to buy goat milk, bring your own container.
It’s a rule tied to the law, not a quirky farm preference. Showing up with a clean jar keeps the visit smooth.
Beyond that, the farm suits a wide crowd. Cheese fans, gardeners, families and curious food lovers all find something here.
Grandparents bringing grandkids get animals plus snacks in one stop. Home cooks get produce, eggs and pork for the week.
Hours can shift with the seasons on a working farm. Check with the farm before heading out so you don’t arrive to a closed store.
Keep expectations grounded too. This is a real farm, not a petting zoo, so follow the crew’s lead around the animals.
As a day out, it’s hard to beat for Lincoln locals and Omaha folks alike. A drive, some goats and a cooler full of national-champion cheese make a pretty good afternoon.
Shadow Brook Farm & Dutch Girl Creamery proves Nebraska farms still have plenty of stories left. This one tastes especially good.
