Mandy and Matt Thompson needed a niche, but they didn’t want to grow the farm anymore.
Then, in 2022, Matt decided to take a three-day cheese-making class at Michigan State University before hiring a consultant who could help design their cheese plant and recipes. Today, the Charlevoix Cheese Company LLC is an artisan cheesemaker that specializes in several cheddar cheeses, Monterey jacks, and cheese curds.
“Our family and community are able to have a product that they know where it comes from,” said Mandy, a Charlevoix County Farm Bureau member. “It's a healthy product for them when they are looking at their nutrition, and it’s important to feed America and make an impact on the world.”
According to Matt, the Charlevoix Cheese Co. can take milk from its 230 cows and make cheese in just eight hours. Learn more about the products here.
“We're able to really tailor our recipes to the milk that we have coming in,” Mandy said. “So what is our protein? What is our butter fat? What do we need to do slightly different in the make-process so that our end product is a high-quality product that is the flavor profile we are looking for?”
Learn more about the Charlevoix Cheese Company in the video above.