ByGeorge farm is the kind of place you imagine a farm to be; grassy paddocks lined with wooden fence, farm equipment placed strategically out of the way of car and foot paths, an assortment of farm animals; ducks and semi-wild turkeys, dogs and cats, small brindled cows and dark wooly sheep. An operation rather than an institution, with signs of the effort of its owners everywhere, and one with a function beyond its own survival. The small, unassuming building at the top of a low hill was mostly overshadowed by the bright white trailer camper parked at the hillsides edge, but it is in this building that Tyson and Johnny produce a variety of handcrafted, award-winning cheeses that represent a decade and a half in food and agriculture.
The function of the farm, to produce quality cheese, incidentally contributes back to the quality of the farm. Here, cows are milked only once daily in a small, stress free environment and with attention and care paid to each individual cow. The herd, a bit less than 30 cows strong- each with their own name- knows their owners well and, combined with the sheep and ducks and dogs, Tyson and Johnny feel like a complete system. A small, idyllic example of a almost cynical tagline the billion dollar california dairy industry paid for at the turn of the century; “great cheese comes from happy cows.”