About Natural Valley Cheese
Tom Torkelson makes artisan cheeses at his small cheese plant in Hustler, near the heart of Wisconsin's Driftless area. The grasses are clean and green in these rolling hills, and this is some of the most beautiful land in Wisconsin.
Tom's father was a dairy farmer in New Glarus, and two of his cousins have cheese plants, so his roots in Wisconsin dairy are deep.
Nearby Amish dairy farmers supply the milk from their pasture-fed goats and cows. They bring it to 
Tom's cheese plant in tiny Hustler, population 112 -- in traditional milk cans that have been cold-water cooled.
About 80 Amish dairy farmers, along with 16 dairy goat farmers (eight are certified organic), supply milk to Natural Valley Cheese.
The farmers all graze their goats and cows on pasture during the milking season, so that the animals consume a greater variety of minerals than animals who eat feeds.
Also, Tom only pumps the milk once. That also keeps the quality of the milk high, because repeated pumping (as is done in larger plants) breaks down butterfat molecules, allowing bacteria to grow more rapidly and thus affecting the flavor.
Tom makes a range of cheeses from the cow milk, but he is creatively exploring the dairy goat milk.
Artisan goat cheeses are usually at the top of the list among cheese connoisseurs, particularly those that are aged or affinaged in some way. Goat milk has a unique and delicate flavor that careful handling transforms into delicious cheeses.
Tom took three prizes at the 2006 American Cheese Society meeting in Portland, Oregon: for their Twin Bluff Select, Lundina cheese, and Feta, all made from dairy goat milk.
He is working on affinaging his goat cheeses, which means finishing them either with a surface treatment or cave-aging or both. This is an art in Europe, and it is a process that brings out the absolute best in a high quality cheese. He plans to have his own cave soon.
Although some of Natural Valley's cheese is marketed locally, the majority finds its way to such places as El Paso, Texas; New York; Denver; and Los Angeles. In distant cities, it's likely to be found at many times the price it's sold for in the little Hustler plant's store.
Mr. Torkelson's goal is to become a master cheesemaker. He has been a licensed cheesemaker for 25 years. He also co-owns Ashe County Cheese in North Carolina with Mike Everhart, a cheesemaker formerly from Westby.
