What the Hay? Virtual Store Opening Delayed (It Is So Close!)

We are firm believers in getting it right the first time. A year ago we had a farm store in operation for a few months that was essentially a separate e-commerce site. Our new store - soon to be unveiled - will be open twelve months a year and will be integrated in look and feel within our website. We thought things were on track to finish up the store by late today, but we still have a few kinks to work out and have decided to delay its opening one week. We apologize for the inconvenience for those who have expressed interest in placing orders upon opening.

While we can't blame our hay entirely for the delay in opening, it has played a significant role. When the grass is ready and the weather cooperates, it is time to make hay! We are thrilled to be haying about seventy acres west of the Chehalis River - some of it has not been hayed in many decades. After a week of cutting, drying and raking the hay, we are ready for an afternoon off to celebrate our country's Independence Day. Special thank to Chris and Danika for their guidance, patience and support - without them we would not have been able to make hay this year on our own fields.

There you have it. Stay tuned to our blog for more details on when the store will open. We are tentatively set for next Saturday - but who knows, it may be earlier! Happy Independence Day!

Willapa Hills Cheese Fact: One year ago today we made our first commercial scale vat of cheese in our newly licensed Creamery.

Willapa Hills Virtual Farm Store Opens at Midnight on July 4th!

Sales of our cheese via the web has been on our "to do" list for quite a while. We have finally put things in motion and are planning to be up and running by midnight of July 4, 2009. You may be wondering, "Why start selling cheese online now?" and "Why open your virtual farm store on July 4th?" There are a number of excellent reasons, but the opening of the Cannon Beach Farmers Market was the final straw shall we say. About half of our Cannon Beach customers are visitors to the northwest and we have been getting bombarded with requests to ship cheese to Oklahoma, San Diego, Chicago - the list goes on. And why a July 4th opening? Well, somehow independence day just feels right, don't you think?

We are going to start with just a few offerings until we get things humming along smoothly. As time goes on we hope to add to the variety of cheese offerings as well as include a few high quality complimentary items. This of course will set us up quite well for holiday gift packages for friends, family and business associates!

Stay tuned for more information and let us know if you have any specific requests.

"These Are a Few of My Favorite Cheeses"

It's been a long day - a good day, even an excellent day - but a long one. We started cutting hay this morning on our 40 acre pasture west of the Chehalis River. It was going awesome until it wasn't. Mower trouble - I will spare you the details except to offer a shout out to Chris for his wisdom and patience!

I was just about to crash for the evening and decided to check e-mail and my Google alerts for all things Willapa Hills and I happened upon two very happy blogs. After a long day it reminded me of why we do what we do - and how rewarding it is on so many levels.

Check out these two blogs that do an excellent job exploring the qualities that make Willapa Hills cheese so unique and delicious: 1) Food on the Brain and 2) Cannibal Cuisine. Both are local northwest blogs well worth your time if you love food! Thanks Jessamyn and Ryan for your words of admiration for Willapa White and Little Boy Blue respectively. If you are ever down our way, we hope you will stop by for some cheese!

Willapa Hill's Seattle University Design Team Wins at ASCE Competition!

The Seattle chapter of the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) hosted its annual Student Presentation night on May 6^th, 2009. The six senior design teams at Seattle University (SU) competed against each other for best presentation and Willapa Hills brought home 1^st prize. Chad Wiggins and Heather Baetge were invited to the May 13^th Seattle Section Meeting to give their presentations to the Section members. Professional Engineers from around the Puget Sound not only loved the presentation, but also the design of a constructed wetland to treat the waste water from the dairy and milking parlor. The SU team worked all school yearto develop a sustainable waste water design for Willapa Hills. On June 5^th, the team presented the complete design at Seattle University’s Projects day where of course, we served Willapa Hills’ Finest!

The SU design team would like to thank Stephen and Amy for being such great clients and giving us the opportunity to design their waste water treatment system.

Vicki Dunaway Visits Willapa Hills for the Spring-Summer Issue of Creamline

This Spring Willapa Hills had the honor of welcoming Vicki Dunaway to our farm. I had e-mailed or talked with Vicki many times over the years when ordering books or renewing my subscription to Creamline. For those of you who don't know about Vicki Dunnaway or Creamine then I suggest you head to smalldairy.com immediately! Vicki (and her small dairy site) are national icons in the small dairy and artisan cheesemaking world. To meet her was amazing. To have her actually visit our farm and taste our cheese was a dream come true. To be one of two featured northwest farms in the current issue of Creamline is an honor beyond words - not to mention that the other farm Vicki visited was the "legendary" Estrella Family Creamery (just a bit intimidating!).

Interested in small scale dairy? Here is a link to a pdf of Vicki's The Small Dairy Resource Book.

Thank you Vicki for taking the time to vist and write about our family and farm!

Central Markets & Town & Country Markets Here We Come!

We are thrilled to announce that Central Markets and Town & Country Markets are now carrying Willapa Hills Farmstead & Artisan Cheese! Willapa White, Fresh With Ewe & Little Boy Blue are all available through this amazing family of stores that focuses on local and natural foods. Stores include: Central Market Poulsbo, Central Market Shoreline, Central Market Mill Creek, Town & Country Bainbridge, the Ballard Market & the Greenwood Market.

In related news, Willapa Hills fan, supporter, farm hand and sommelier (anticipating our tasting room in the not-so-distant future!) Gary Shuck, was sighted this last Thursday and Friday at Central Market Poulsbo, sampling the three aforementioned Willapa Hills cheeses. It was another successful day of sharing the goodness of wholesome natural farmstead and artisan cheese with a world seeking enlightenment - OK, at least seeking great cheese! Thank you Gary for your support and love of fine cheese!

deVine Wines Announces New Ownership & Willapa Hills was there to Celebrate!

Congratulations to Paula and Rich Shivley the new owners of deVine Wines located in Mill Creek north of Seattle. Willapa Hills had the honor of being present for one evening of a week long celebration kicking off their grand reopening. DeVine wines was established five years ago and Paula was present from day one. Paula and Rich know the history, the customers and most importantly they know the wines! We are excited for the years ahead as they take deVine Wines to new heights. Take a minute and check out their amazing wine club.

We are excited to also announce that Willapa Hills will also be involved in one of deVine Wines special events this July that involves - you guessed it - amazing cheese and wine! Stay tuned for more information as details firm up...