Bee Tree Farm & Dairy
$5,000 Whole Foods Market Grant and $5,000 Gina Burchenal Grant: $10,000
Bee Tree Farm & Dairy produces hand-raised, hand-crafted goat milk cheeses from a farmstead in Manor, Texas. Owner, head cheese-maker, and chief goat-milker, Jenna Kelly-Landes sought to fill a gap in local farmstead cheeses by producing whole goat milk halloumi and whole goat milk skyr, two kinds of cheese not made by any other artisan producer in the southern United States.
The grant increased production of these unique Texas-born cheeses through improvements to the dairy and barn buildings, improve packaging, and purchase equipment to increase current milk production by 30-percent. Additionally, the grant funding helped establish a dairy apprenticeship program. The program provides experience and teaching skills to include goat birthing, milking, general husbandry, cheese making, and market sales.
In a first-ever dual named grant award, Bee Tree Farm & Dairy was selected for the Whole Foods Market grant and also The Gina Burchenal Grant supporting a woman-owned business. With the addition of the Gina Burchenal Grant, owner Jenna Kelly-Landes gained the additional funds to fully support Bee Tree Farm & Dairy's expansion plans for the production of unique farmstead cheese.