Seal Cove Farm

Lamoine, Maine

Seal Cove Farm was founded in 1976 by Barbara Brooks. She began innocently enough, as most cheesemakers do, with just two does who produced milk for her family and for some forays into making fresh chevre in her kitchen. By 1981, the herd of goats numbered 20, and Barbara sold her first raw milk chevre to local shops and at farmers markets. She soon saw that her hobby could become a viable business operation, and constructed a small cheesemaking facility on the farm to expand her operations. During those early days Barbara relied on two mentors - one who taught her the finer points of cheesemaking, while the other educated her about the animal husbandry side of the business - raising strong and healthy milk goats.

By 1996, the business needed room to expand, and Seal Cove Farm moved to its current location in Lamoine. The herd of 125 goats now has a large barn to shelter them from the harsh Maine winters, and plenty of room to frolic outside on the farm's pasture and rocky outcroppings. Barbara now makes up to 700 pounds of cheese per week when the goats are in their peak season, and buys some cows' milk from the local university to make mixed milk cheeses. In the summer season Barbara and her team welcomes visitors to Seal Cove Farm to visit their on farm store, and to a weekly pizza night under the stars using their wood fired oven.