Learn About Clover Meadow Cheese
Clover Meadow Cheese grew from a twofold dream: to run a successful, small-scale family farm and to produce high quality artisanal cheese. Through David and Ida Brown’s nearly three decades of farming, they’ve worked across many areas of the supply chain, from milking cows and selling to dairy co-ops, to working in cheese plants. In 2021, David began experimenting with cheesemaking using raw milk and Kefir grains as a starter culture. Over the next few years, Clover Meadow would develop their own cheese, Edenshire (named after Eden Lake Township, Minn., where it was created), and receive a manufacturing-grade permit to begin making farmstead cheese. You can now find smooth and creamy Edenshire at both Seward Co-op stores.
Ecosystem health is extremely important to Clover Meadow Cheese, and the Browns help maintain it by using natural fertilizers and rotationally grazing their herd of cows between pastures during the growing season. Crops on the farm are also grown in rotation, alongside cover crops, to help improve soil quality and fertility. Healthy soil supports healthy plants to feed healthy cows which produce high quality milk and cheese.