I visited Shepherd’s Way Farm on a 27-degree icy day in late November. Jodi welcomed me and my dear friend Gracia in for tea and we talked for a long time around her table before she showed us around the farm. She is a striking person, both vulnerable and incredibly strong, and her belief in what she does is clear.
Jodi Ohlsen Read, her husband Steven, and their four sons, Aidan, Elia, Isaiah, and Maitias, are sheep milk farmstead cheesemakers who practice sustainable farming in Nerstrand, Minnesota. They take great care around every step of the process, from the diet they feed their ewes, to humane milking practices, to making every small batch of cheese by hand.
The Reads began having a series of conversations in 1994 around the question, How do we want to live? They wanted a fulfilling life, one in which they could spend time with family and friends, take care of the land and animals, and do something they cared about. They talked about what an ideal life might look like, and they talked through ways to make that life. One defining day, Steven asked Jodi, “How do you feel about milking sheep?” Weeks later they had 40. They arranged a sweat equity exchange with a farmer whose land and buildings were in need of refurbishing, and eventually Jodi found a farm that they purchased as their own. She placed an ad in local rural papers and one day a retired farmer called. Their conversation went something like this: “You looking for a harvester?” “No, I’m looking for a farm.” “Oh, I have one of those.” Jodi visited and, though the barn was unsuitable for lambing, she knew it would be home. When Steven came the next day to look at the property, a rainbow appeared over the barn, the wind came up, and the For Sale sign blew away. It became Shepherd’s Way Farms. Through hardship that would have made most people crumple and walk away—financial challenges and the devastating loss of their barns and two thirds of their flock to an arson—Jodi and Steven have worked hard to continue to make artisanal cheeses and a life that is meaningful to them.
Making cheese is a physical pursuit, and one that has transformed Jodi. Her hands are muscular and powerful, so much so that her wedding ring no longer fits. Making a batch of Friesago requires lifting wheels of cheese weighing cumulatively almost two tons, and that’s just a day’s labor. It’s one that Jodi clearly loves. She became an award winning cheesemaker almost by accident. In the early days of the farm she wanted to learn about the process before she hired someone to make the cheese. But she was a natural cheesemaker, and her Friesago won a prize the first time they entered it in a contest, hoping only to receive formal feedback.
Jodi credits her teachers when she talks about her cheesemaking skills, but, as anyone who has cooked or baked knows, there is an alchemy and a kind of magic that separates two cooks or bakers following the same recipe. It’s the way one intuitively knows a feel, a smell, a sound, and a moment that marks ingredients becoming something truly special. Jodi has this gift and intuition with cheeses, and hers are products not only of the pastures she and her husband lovingly care for and the sheep they lovingly tend, but of her rare gift.
The Reads have added natural wool bedding, fine meats, and charcuterie to their cheese offerings, all with the same uncompromising attention to detail and pride as their award winning cheeses. They raise heritage breed Large Black Pigs and Buckeye chickens in addition to their flock of sheep.
I couldn’t help but think as I sat over tea with Jodi about what a gift they have given not only those of us lucky enough to enjoy their cheeses in Minnesota, but to their four sons. They have taught them that it’s possible to live your values, to be imaginative and creative, to be present in your own life, to work hard for something that’s important to you, and that making something beautiful is far more important than chasing wealth. They’ve taught us, too.
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The Reads wonderful cheeses are available in the Twin Cities region at various restaurants and at Twin Cities Co-ops, Surdyks, Byerly’s, Lunds, Kowalskis and other specialty cheese shops, and at the Mill City Farmer’s Market and the St. Paul Indoor Farmers Market at Golden’s Deli. Depending on availability, Shepherd’s Way cheeses can also be found in the Ferry Building in San Fransisco, Pike’s Place in Seattle, Clyde’s in Washington D.C., and Pastoral in Chicago.
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Shepherd’s Way Farms
http://www.shepherdswayfarms.com
Holiday Gift Baskets
Holiday Gift Baskets from Shepherd’s Way Farms include an assortment of carefully selected handcrafted cheeses and, if you’d like, their smoked lamb and pork Westlund sausage. Holiday Gift Baskets can be preordered through the farm and picked up at the farm on December 12th between noon and 5:00pm or at the Indoor Farmer’s Market at Local D’Lish or St. Paul on December 18th at 10:00am.
CSA Shares
Shepherd’s Way Farms members will receive a monthly cheese share made up of an assortment – usually 4 – 6 pieces – of Shepherd’s Way Farms cheeses totaling one and a half pounds. Members also have unique opportunities to try new Shepherd’s Way products and receive invitations to special member events at the farm. Pickups are available in Northfield, St. Paul, and Minneapolis at various locations. Visit the Shepherd’s Way Farms website for more information or to sign up.
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Recipes:
Poached Pear & Fresh Ricotta Turnovers
Spinach Lasagne with Wild Boar Sausage, Olivada, Fresh Ricotta & Mozzarella, and Simple Tomato Sauce
Grilled Shepherd’s Way Farms’ Big Woods Blue Cheese Sandwich with Quince Paste and Raw Honey
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When I visited Shepherd’s Way Farms I snapped these eight pictures before I lost my balance on the ice and grabbed the electric fence to catch myself. Yup. Not the brainiest response.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
What a lovely piece about the farm.
Oh, thank you, Kris!
Such a beautiful story – a beautiful life! Fun to read and imagine.