Thriving Farmer Case Study: Eden Creamery

A family of scientists turned cheesemakers!

Cassie and Asaf are the farmers behind Eden Creamery, just outside of Boise, Idaho.

“We’re a couple of scientists turned cheese makers,” Cassie says. “I guess you could call us “Curd Nerds.”

Asaf is Israeli and settled on Eden Creamery as the farm’s name, after the Garden of Eden. There, he and Cassie raise a rare breed of goats, the beautiful Oberhasli.

Their farm is a full-circle operation, where they rear and milk goats and make handmade farmstead cheese in their Grade-A, ISDA Certified creamery.

“We’re proudly raising a ton of kids,” Cassie says. “Well…we’re raising four of the human kind and an ever-increasing number of the goat kind.”

But Cassie says that getting into farming wasn’t a long, strategic discussion. Rather, it just sort of…happened.

“It happened kind of by accident. Cheesemaking was a hobby that got out of control.”

Like many farmers, it was the love of the farming enterprise that attracted Cassie and Asaf. Whether it’s growing vegetables and fruit or tending to livestock or, in their case, making cheese, farmers often get hooked on the “farm work.” But, once they turn that into a business, they quickly discover they must focus on marketing if they want their farm to thrive. Because effective marketing is what allows a farmer to find and attract loyal customers.

“Marketing, marketing, marketing is the most challenging part of running a profitable farm business,” Cassie says. “I wish we would have understood that and focused on it earlier.”

Fortunately, Cassie found Small Farm Nation Academy in 2018 and has been a member since.

“The help with website design, video courses and the online community are the biggest reasons I’d recommend Small Farm Nation Academy,” Cassie says. “I’ve also taken advantage of the one-to-one coaching with Tim when needed, and it’s nice to know there’s coaching there whenever I need it.”