This week on Cutting the Curd, host Diane Stemple is talking Kickstarter campaigns with Sue Miller of Birchrun Hills Farm and Jessica Sennett of Cheese Grotto. First up, Sue Miller talks about her cheese history before delving into the goal of Birchrun Hills’ Kickstarter campaign. As a family-run dairy, they are seeking support in order to build a cheese-making facility (a.k.a. “a cave”) on the farm. The money will go to purchasing a curd vat, shelving (to ripen cheese), and a cooling system for the new aging facility. Sue and her family have been making cheese in a small off-site rental facility for the last seven years and have outgrown the current facility and do not have the space needed to keep up with the growing demand for our cheeses from chefs, farmers’ market customers, and shops around the country. Jessica also shares her background in retail cheese making and explains that she has designed products to help people store and age cheese in their homes. She goes on to add that everyone has had that moment where they reach for a piece of cheese stored in a fridge drawer or on a shelf only to find it covered in mold, stinky (not in a good way) and inedible. As cheese aficionados she and her team have spent the last year thinking about this problem and designing the first line of products: the Cheese Grotto and its little sister, the Cheese Safe. The Kickstarter campaign seeks to help get this project properly off the ground! Tune in to hear all the details behind engaging in Kickstarter campaigns, learn about the guests’ projects, and perhaps even contribute! This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“Plan B is to make it work – as farmers we are resilient!” [24:18]

—Sue Miller on Cutting the Curd

“With product and product design you need a decent amount of investment up front in order to get the ball rolling.” [25:02

—Jessica Sennett on Cutting the Curd

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