Category Archives: Opportunities

Items and/or experiences made available to Guild members and the public to access

Guild Grant for ACS Competition Entries in 2015

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The Maine Cheese Guild announces that we will offer to cover the cost of every Maine Cheese Guild member’s first ACS Competition entry for 2015. We know from past experience that the more Maine cheeses that are entered into the largest cheese competition in North America, the more Maine cheeses will win awards and illustrate the quality of cheese being made and sold in Maine.

In addition, the Maine Cheese Guild will organize a group shipment of ALL Guild entries to the ACS Competition and will subsidize up to $500 of the cost for that, splitting any additional costs among those who participate. Details on this will be sent to everyone who participates in the First Entry Reimbursement as the shipping date approaches in July.

Reimbursement for your first ACS Competition Entry is simple: enter at least one cheese in the ACS competition. Each entry is $60 and you must enter before May 9th (there is a one-week late entry period, but the Guild will reimburse for only the regular entry fee on your first entry); you must be an ACS member to participate, and you will need to be prepared to upload a picture/scan of your current local license certificate when you enter the competition on-line. When you receive your email receipt, forward that email with your mailing address to our treasurer, Mary Belding–

(littlefallsfarmcheeseATgmailDOTcom using the @ and . symbols where upper-case)

–and she will send you a check for your first entry fee.

Good Luck!

Maine Cheese Guild

ACS Conference Grant Opportunities

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At our Annual Meeting last November we committed to sending as large a group as possible to this year’s American Cheese Society conference in Providence, RI July 29th through August 1s. To that end we committed to offering partial grants to UP TO TEN (or as many as we can afford) Guild members to help them with the cost of attendance; the grants would pay for the Early Bird conference fee of around $500, which would be roughly half of total expenses. (Be aware that you must also be a member of ACS to attend the conference, and to submit competition entries.)

It’s time to ask our members to apply to the Guild so that we know how many folks are interested so we can budget accordingly.

If you can commit to attending the ACS Conference this summer and would like to apply for a guild Grant to do so, please write

—one paragraph describing you and your cheese experience,
—and one paragraph describing what you seek to gain by attending the ACS conference;
—your name and contact info;
—send to info@mainecheeseguild.org with the subject “Guild Grant Request” BEFORE our April 13th meeting.

At that meeting the group will discuss the number of folks seeking a grant, and given our current finances how many grants the Guild can afford to offer. If there are more grant seekers than grants available, the Guild board will review the applications and choose whom will receive Grants before the end of the Early Bird registration.

In addition to conference fee grants, the Guild has committed to offering to pay the entry fee for any Guild member’s first ACS competition entry, and to subsidize a group shipment of all Guild entries into the competition. More info about that effort later this year.

Help Fuzzy Udder Creamery’s make their big move!

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Help Fuzzy Udder Creamery get ready to make cheese at their new home in Whitefield!

Check out Fuzzy Udder’s IndieGogo Campaign

Fuzzy Udder Cheese!

In 2011, I started my own business, Fuzzy Udder Creamery with my two favorites: fresh hand-stretched mozzarella made from buttery jersey cow milk and sheep’s milk yogurt. If you haven’t had sheep’s milk yogurt, you have no idea what you are missing! I built a cheeseroom in Unity Maine in 2012 and had two successful seasons making all kinds of cheeses from both sheep and cow’s milk, including: fresh mozzarella, sheep’s milk yogurt, fresh sheep cheese, brie, ashed-layered soft-ripened cheese, washed rinds, gouda, swiss, tomme and baby provolone. I have also spent the last few years building up a small herd of well-cared for and very happy sheep and goats.

This summer, I had a severe allergic reaction to the house I lived in a the farm in Unity where I had built my creamery, so I had to find a new home for myself, my creamery and my animals before the winter. Luckily through the generous support of so many people in our farming community here in Maine, including Slow Money Maine and Maine Farmland Trust, I was able to purchase an old farmhouse with a barn and a creamery here in Whitefield Maine, the former home of Townhouse Creamery.

Now that I have moved, I need help getting my new creamery up and running. I am looking to raise enough funds to install my cheesemaking equipment in my new cheeseroom, build a walk-in cooler to age my cheese and get a milking parlor set up to milk my sheep and goats this spring.

With your help, I can start my 3rd season as Fuzzy Udder Creamery out right!

I am looking to raise $10,000 from this campaign so I can start making cheese again. With these funds, I will be hiring a plumber, an electrician, and several builders to get my cheeseroom and milking parlor ready for licensing.

Once I start making cheese again, I will host an open house and creamery/farm tour for those who contributed $25 or more. I will be serving a feast of local food, featuring all of Fuzzy Udder’s wide variety of cheeses. In addition, anyone who donates $50 or more will receive a cheesy gift in the mail!

Please help me publicize this campaign by telling all of your friends.

Thanks for reading about me and for supporting small farmers in Maine! To find out more about Fuzzy Udder Creamery, please visit my website: http://www.fuzzyudder.com