OCTOBER 2017 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 45
about using raw milk, as Mecox does. Much of
the debate centers on a 1947 law that prohibits
the sale of raw milk cheese that hasn’t been aged
for more than 60 days.
“The regulations make sense for certain cheeses,”
Nora Weiser, executive director of the
American Cheese Society, said at a conference
last month. “We’re trying to show that you can
make cheese safely using dozens of methods.
In a survey of artisan and specialty cheesemakers
conducted last year, the ACS identified 900
producers. Of those, 75 percent make less than
50,000 pounds of cheese a year, according to the
survey – Mecox hopes to reach 30,000 pounds
in the future – and only 38 percent make their
cheese with raw milk.
“Would they use raw milk if regulations were
more permitting?” questioned Weiser. “That’s
what we are working on by educating regulators
on the high quality of raw milk cheese.”
And you can taste the difference, pro-raw milk
folks say.
“You just can’t get the same quality with
pasteurized milk,” said Pete. “The flavor and
complexity just doesn’t compare.”
After attending the Cornell Agriculture School,
Art Ludlow and his wife Stacy set up their home
on the Bridgehampton farm where Art and his
brother, Harry, were born. The siblings share the
property to this day, with Harry planting and
harvesting vegetables and selling his crops under
the original name of the property, Fairview
Farm.
Art grew and sold potatoes for years, but decided
to switch gears around 1999 with an assist
from a family cow named Nora.
“We had the family cow back in the ’90s and I
started to experiment a little with cheese,” Art
said. “It was just a hobby, but I thought it would
be good to bring something a little different to
the local market.”
Art committed, and attended cheesemaking
workshops over the next few years. In April
2003, he produced two cheeses on a bigger scale:
a pungent, wash-rind tome and a creamy mix
between a Brie and a Camembert. Both have
since become staples.
Art said he’s glad his sons have taken an interest
in the family cheese shop, if not a little
surprised since they’re both musicians. Pete
graduated from Vassar College with a music
degree in 2010 and plays organ in church every
Sunday, while John gigs regularly as a jazz
saxophonist. These days, Pete is also focused on
making the farm self-sustaining by planting,
growing, harvesting and processing all the feed
for the animals on the farm. John, who just
recently started working for the dairy full time,
handles more logistical tasks like filling orders
and packaging cheese.
“It’s good because I’m ready to do a little less,”
said Art. “Hasn’t happened quite yet, but I’m
hoping.”
The Ludlows sell at farmer’s markets and to local cheese shops and restaurants.
The Dairy uses raw milk from a herd of about 30 Jersey cows.
FOOD & DRINK