Supplier Spotlight: Sweet Grass Dairy

 

Let Them Eat Grass 

The local cheesemaker of the south  

 

 

I first met with SGD in 1999, when I was the GM and head of the cheese department for a new Specialty Food shop in Atlanta. I was introduced to them by Skip Glover, then head of Georgia Organics. While Sweet Grass was not certified organic, they were “clean”. I liked, not loved, their first cheeses, but I tasted possibilities in their cheeses. I went to Thomasville and took a tour of the dairy. It was a start up; I then went to their farm and saw the cows. Jersey cows are their primary breed, but what I was most excited about was that the cows live in the pastures, not in barns, like is typical for most dairy cows. They practice rotational grazing, where the cows are moved to a new pasture after every milking, twice a day. This combination produced the richest milk, golden in color with elevated butterfat. I felt like they had the right ingredients, knowledge and passion to make great cheese. 

Fast forward to today, the modern Sweet Grass Dairy. They have moved forward so far from where they started. Sweet Grass is now owned by Jessica and Jeremy Little, daughter and son-in-law of the original owners. They source their milk exclusively from Jessica’s brother, Clay, who still practices rotational grazing. They have a new ultra modern cheese plant built to take advantage of the newest technology and embracing the traditional methods that are needed to make cheese of the highest quality. They take utmost advantage of the quality milk they have and turn it into beautiful cheese.

We proudly carry all their cheeses, we use them to make sandwiches, in our snack trays and on our cheese platters. We consider ourselves fortunate that they are our local cheesemaker. I am so impressed how far they have come as cheese makers, I am honored to call them my friends.