Visit the Cheese Farms of Southern Minnesota

The fertile countryside of southern Minnesota is dotted with farms and creameries where some of the best cheese in the region emerges from small independent makers. Cheese lovers have a number of options for places to visit—and creations to taste—throughout the area.

Visit a Cheese Farm in Southern Minnesota

The story behind the sheep’s milk cheese of Shepherd's Way Farms in Nerstrand, a 15-minute drive from both Northfield and Faribault, is as grittily inspiring as the cheese is delicious. The Read family (wife Jodi makes the cheese while husband Steven tends to the flock) fought to rebuild their farm after a devastating 2005 fire and turned it into one of the state's star creameries after years of painstaking work. That effort was capped by a successful 2015 Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $60,000 to build more barns.

The farm often hosts classes and other events, and Shepherd's Way cheese is available throughout the state. Look in particular for Big Woods Blue, which offers a lovely balance between sharp and creamy flavors that makes it a powerhouse on the plate.

Prairie Hollow Farm, 30 minutes northeast of Rochester, produces a cornucopia of food including cheese, bread made from Kulm wheat grown on the farm, grass-fed beef, pork and vegetables. The farm's offerings can be found at a number of places, including the farm itself and at the Rochester Farmers Market. Tours (including samples) are offered for $25 per person, with family and group rates available.

Where to Buy Minnesota Cheeses: Shops, Markets & Caves

The cutting edge of Minnesota's cheese scene may well be Alemar Cheese of Mankato. The soft, European-style cheeses made by the small company’s cheesemakers include nationally known Bent River, a Camembert-style cheese with all the full, earthy flavor of its counterpart from across the ocean. Alemar’s cheese is available all over the state (and the country), including at various co-ops and cheese shops in the Twin Cities.

No visit to southern Minnesota would be complete without a taste of some of the bold blue or mellow gouda and baby Swiss cheeses made at the venerable Caves of Faribault. The eponymous caves, which provide an ancient and very useful version of refrigerated climate control, have been a site for producing beer or cheese on and off since the 1850s.