Drake Family Farms

Drake Family Farms, Ontario, California. Where every goat has a name!

“Addy loves to be scratched on her back. Violet has a long back. They are like a herd of dogs with all different personalities, some are laid back, they all want to be in your face all the time,” commented farm owner and veterinarian, Dan Drake, of Drake Family Farms, of Ontario, California.

Drake Family Farms cheeses are both “farmstead,” and “artisan.” “Farmstead,” means made on the farm with milk exclusively from the farm’s own animals. According to the American Cheese Society, the word “artisan or artisanal,” implies that cheese is produced primarily by hand, in small batches, with particular attention paid to the tradition of the cheese maker’s art, and thus using as little mechanization as possible in the production of the cheese.

The secret to making the best cheese is to use only the highest quality milk. The best quality milk comes from happy healthy goats. Dan Drake is the veterinarian who has been overseeing the health of the Drake Family Farms goatherd for the past 26 years. All the goats have names and are registered with the American Dairy Goat Association. The goats are housed in open housing with indoor and outdoor areas and allowed to go wherever they please. They do not eat corn or soy, but do delight in the greenest alfalfa hay you have ever seen. They are our pets!

Drake Family Farms are currently producing fresh chevre at the farm. They use the finest French cultures. It is incubated for twelve hours and then drained in bags to give it a wonderful smooth texture and taste. All of our chevre cheese is packaged in tubs, which make great storage containers so you can eat a little bit of and snap the lid back on to keep it fresh for the next day. We recommend everyone have a few tubs in the freezer in case you have a goat cheese emergency!

Our raw goat milk cheese are made from real raw goat milk. We take raw goat milk from the goats on our farm and then make the cheese. We do not add preservatives or mold inhibitors. We do add salt to the cheese, which has a preservation effect. As long as the cheese stays vacuum-sealed, you can keep it in the fridge for months or even years! Visit us on Facebook to see events, our farm store and join a tour at Drake Family Farms Goat Dairy California. DrakeFamilyFarms.com