Vermont Shepherd is a 250-acre, grass-based sheep dairy farm in Westminster West. We make mountain cheeses from the beautiful raw milk of our flock of over 200 dairy ewes and the ewes of Wild Shepherd Farm in Athens. We also make a seasonal, blended milk cheese with cow’s milk from the Putney School and our sheep’s milk.

Vermont Shepherd is one of the oldest sheep farms in Vermont and it is the oldest operational sheep dairy in the United States. The farm is owned and run by the Major and Ielpi family. The three generations of shepherds on the farm have lambed and pastured, herded and shorn many, many generations of sheep.

At the northern edge of the farm is a cave which is home to over 40,000 lbs a year of our farmstead cheese. All of our cheeses are aged on wooden boards, an age-old method that helps in the development of natural cheese rinds. Each week we turn, brush or wash the cheeses to cultivate beautiful, natural cheese rinds. These rinds, free of plastic and wax, help to enhance the cheeses' flavor and give our cheeses their unique characteristics.

In addition to the Brattleboro Farmers' Market, our cheese is available at local food co-ops, online, and at our on-farm store. Please visit us if you're ever in the neighborhood, and enjoy the cheese!