For our next customer spotlight, we are excited to tell all of our friends about Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, an upstanding family farm in Barren County, Kentucky! Louisville Label has been printing labels for this family since 2005.
Family Farm
Kenny Senior bought this 200 acre piece of land on the beautiful hills of Austin, Kentucky, in 1976. At first the family business operated as strictly a dairy farm, but in 1988, they began making cheese with their own cows’ milk. Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese is a great example of the integrity and transparency that come with a small business. They even welcome people to come out and visit their farm, so they can get to know you better and show off their beautiful land! Coming up on November 13-14, they have their Annual Christmas Open House! You can visit their website for more details.
Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese is in the process of becoming completely GMO free within the next 5 years. They have successfully transitioned their feed crops away from GMOs and are not growing any GMOs on their land. The last step is to source non-GMO grains to supplement their cows’ diet.
The Herd
Kenny says, “We know that the quality of our cheese is only as good as the milk, and we are reminded daily that this is dependent upon healthy animals.”
When Kenny started his farm, he sought to set a new standard for dairy farming in the region, and almost 40 years later, his vision has been realized. Due to great care, superior cow comfort, and better nutrition, Kenny’s cows have doubled their milk production. Their life span is also double the average for their breeds. There’s no doubt about it, these are happy, healthy cows!
The herd is a crossbreed of five different types of cow: American Holstein, European Holstein, Australian Red, Brown Swiss, and Jersey. Kenny and his son, Jared, seek to breed cows that are efficient in converting their feed into milk, active and have a long lifespan.
The cows are fed a daily ration of high quality alfalfa hay and roam free on the pasture to eat the grass, unless it is too hot, too muddy or too cold for them to be out. Kenny only uses antibiotics if the life of the cow is at risk.
The Cheese
Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese started out with the classic cheddar and gouda cheeses. They now boast 10 signature cheeses, 6 variations of cheddar, 5 American-style cheeses and 9 European cheeses! You can read about each of these delicious cheeses on their site, but just to name a few of the unique flavors, they have Kentucky Rose, Smoked Kentucky Bleu, Garlic Paprika Monterey Jack and Peppercorn Asiago.
Chances are, they have the cheese you’re looking for and you can taste the farmhouse difference! What you buy at the store just doesn’t compare to the quality that comes from a local family farm.
For more information, you can visit their website or reach out the them with a personal message.
To read about another awesome, local small businesses, check out our blog on The Weekly Juicery!
