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Peaceful Heart FarmCast

My husband and I work a small farm and are building a farmstead creamery. We practice sustainable living and produce farmstead and artisan cheese, hand-made in small batches. You can find more information at www.peacefulheartfarm.com.
This podcast focuses on our life of creating artisan farmstead cheese. We do so with wisdom and grace. I find great joy in learning about the history and philosophy of cheesemaking from the past which brought us to this point in time. In this podcast I will be passing along lots of cheese information as well as offering info and insight into the history of all kinds of food -- and CHEESE. I trust you will also find it interesting and entertaining.
Other products and services offered include: Grass fed beef, lamb and goat. 

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  2. Podcast Reboot

Podcast Reboot

Feb 3, 2019

Podcast Reboot

podcast rebootHello everybody. Melanie Hall here. Hope you are doing well. Are you ready for the podcast to get going again? I sure am. One change you’ll notice is that going forward I’ve rebranded the podcast. The name changed from Village Wisdom Podcast to Peaceful Heart FarmCast.

If you’re a subscriber, you don’t need to do anything . . . I’ve updated all the links so you’ll still get the podcast automatically in iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music or wherever you listen. But you will now find the podcast episodes and show notes on the Peaceful Heart Farm website.

Next, I’d like to tell you why I rebranded and what to expect going forward in the Peaceful Heart FarmCast.

You can expect traditional lifestyle education, entertaining anecdotes about history and traditional methods of cooking – and most importantly, Cheese, Cheese and more Cheese.

As my long-time followers know, I have quite a few passions. I’ve covered a lot of ground on the Village Wisdom Podcast. And Of course, I’m still passionate about philosophy, education, personal responsibility, living a graceful and productive life. It’s what I’ve been podcasting and writing about via the Village Wisdom Podcast for quite a few years.

However, I’m also passionate about the homestead lifestyle and making cheese that reflects our local terroir. Hand-made Artisan cheese created using traditional methods and techniques.

How Did I Get Here?

At Peaceful Heart Farm, we’ve gone through several iterations on what our central business enterprise would be. First, we were going to raise vegetables, then chickens, then sheep, we raised a lots of sheep — and then the Normande cows came on the scene.

We got them because I wanted to make cheese for our family. I wanted raw milk and I wanted to make real butter that I knew came from pasture grass only. The Normande is a dual breed cow that provides both milk and meat. I immediately fell in love with their beautiful coats and gentle nature, and that is what sparked my interest in making cheese for more than just our family.

A fire lighted in me to make cheese for my local community. I want to share my love for the cows and the cheese with the world.

Pieces of the puzzle clicked into place and we knew that a farmstead creamery is what we wanted to build on the homestead. It’s a huge time and financial investment. We ended up working for others for several years longer than originally planned in order to make this dream a reality. Even today, we continue to put one foot in front of the other, making slow progress by some business standards. We are full time on the homestead now and living the way we do makes it all worthwhile.

And while this lifestyle has all kinds of upsides, the business end of small-scale artisan cheesemaking is challenging. The business end takes time. It takes a lot of time.

As farmers we don’t have employees, managers, investors or a board of directors. There is no marketing department. We have to do it all. And there are only so many hours in the day.

When we started, there was a lot to learn. We were on information overload learning how to grow our own food in this region, animal husbandry, breeding, pasture management, meat processing, and now, cheesemaking and building the creamery – and the list goes on and on. The tasks go on and on. As do the chores. And like most small-farm owners, our marketing efforts have been just about non-existent.

We Will Make our Small Farm Work

As I said, I’m passionate about making cheese and providing Artisan cheese to the local community. I’m passionate about the traditional methods. Hand-made in small batches.

So, I’ve been really busy over the past few months; making and testing various cheeses, developing our unique cheeses. I’ve been developing the farm website. I’ve been preparing to join the Farmer’s Market community, getting marketing materials together. And on and on. It’s never-ending.

Busy, busy, busy. No time for focus on anything outside of the homestead and making Peaceful Heart Farm and Creamery a viable small business. And I love it.

You may recall the number of times I mentioned the farm in the Village Wisdom Podcast. The homestead is my greatest passion project and it needed my full attention.

But this is more than just our farm and homestead. It’s a place to produce fabulous, nutritious, traditional food. It’s a place to offer our knowledge to others via classes and workshops. Did I mention the commercial kitchen that is part of the building project?

Oh yeah, not only making the cheese for you, but showing you how to make the cheese, and how to cook with cheese. Or heck, just showing you how to cook whatever you want with your own two hands.

Now it’s time for me to relaunch my podcast. You’ll hear from me weekly. The content will be focused on giving you the best information I have on cheese; various types of cheese, cheese around the world, how cheese is made, the history of cheese and cheesemaking, cooking with cheese – and as a bonus, I’ll be offering additional wisdom on traditional cooking methods, cooking from scratch, and preserving your own food to use in your recipes – especially those cheese recipes.

Here’s to helping you “taste the traditional touch.”

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Thank you so much for listening and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.