NOVEMBER 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
17 Demand underpins cheesemaker’s expansion
Haltwhistle’s cheeses support demand for local milk
by PETER MITHAM
DUNCAN – When cheesemaker Cory Spencer and his wife Kirsten Thorarinson relocated to the Cowichan Valley in 2010 with dreams of raising a small herd of dairy goats, the property they found was seven acres at the former Damar dairy farm in the hills above Duncan. The initial herd has grown to about 140 goats – mostly Swiss breeds such as Alpine, Saanen and Toggenburg – and, all going well, herd size will double next year thanks to growing demand for the farm’s raw milk cheeses. But the farm’s expansion has also resulted in the return of cow’s milk to the property, thanks to a partnership with Oliver Balme of Balme Ayr Farms Ltd. in nearby Cobble Hill. “We were always interested in using the milk from the Balme Ayr farm because he has a herd of Ayrshire cows,” says Spencer. “That’s an old Scottish breed, and they produce fantastic milk for making cheese. … It’s a really nice, rich fatty milk, and it makes really great cheese for us.”
A licensed bulk milk tank
grader, Spencer picks up 1,000 litres from Balme Ayr one to three times each week, depending on the season, and delivers it to his on-farm cheesemaking plant, which operates as Haltwhistle Cheese Co. (formerly The Happy Goat). “Come February, March,
when we’re really starting to build inventory up for our summer sales which have traditionally been our biggest here, we’ll bring in cow’s milk two, maybe three times a week,” he says. The farm makes six varieties
of cow’s milk cheese and six with goat’s milk. All are made with raw milk, which means they have to be held for a minimum of 60 days. Spencer prefers to hold them for at least 90 days. “Generally, we find the best
flavour, texture comes out with a 90-day minimum development, depending on what kind of cheese you’re going for,” he says. Spencer studied cheesemaking at Moonstruck Organic Cheese Inc. on Salt Spring as well as in England and France. His cow’s milk cheeses include a traditional English cheddar, a blue and a Gouda, as well as French-style
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Cory Spencer of Haltwhistle Cheese Co. on Vancouver Island is scaling up his goat dairy with the help of cow’s milk. PETER MITHAM PHOTO
cheeses that parallel the ones he makes from goat’s milk. Spencer met the Balmes
through the Cowichan Agricultural Society and a friendship and mutual respect grew. When he began expanding production, Balme Ayr came to mind. “It’s easier to roll up to another dairy and pick up 1,000 litres of milk than it is to double our herd,” he says. “It allows us to scale our volumes
more easily.” And, by becoming a licensed grader, it gave him the flexibility to source the milk as he needed it. “We can do things on our
own schedule,” he says. The expansion is breathing
new life into the Damar property, bought in 1958 by Harold and Betty Tattam. Harold died in 2008 but his
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