Oregon Culture Keepers Roster Menu

Amy Seymour dairy farms and crafts custom cheeses. Seymour is a fourth-generation farmer; her great-grandfather came to homestead in the area in 1876. Her family is one of only 212 multi-generational dairy farm families in Oregon. Whereas her father kept 50 dairy cows, Seymour and her family have 275 head that they must milk twice a day. As one of the 82 remaining dairy farms that make up the current Tillamook County co-op membership, they still ship their milk to the Tillamook Creamery. In times past there were hundreds of dairy farms in the co-op, but many of the children of those farmers did not continue in the business, which requires a considerable commitment. Dairy farmers work 365 days a year to bring milk to market for consumers, or in processed form as butter, cheese, yogurt and ice cream. But competition for these value-added dairy products is stiff, and farmers must be innovative to survive. In 2016, after some book learning, trying out recipes, then a 3-day short course in cheese making at Oregon State University, the Seymours opened their farmstead cheese shop in Cloverdale. Growth was rapid their first year, after which they hired a professional cheesemaker. A flourishing enterprise in just three years’ time, their product line now includes camembert, cheddar, feta, gouda, Havarti, Meda, Swiss, Welsh style, and Tomme cheese varieties. Amy Seymour is proud of her family’s accomplishments; their dairy produces healthy and nutritious milk and cheese that contribute both to the economy and environment. Amy says, "I am really proud to be a farmer. Really proud to be the fourth-generation still farming here. Our son's the fifth generation, and he's got a little boy on the way so that will be the sixth generation on the farm. Yeah, I take a lot of pride in it, that our family has stuck it out through the generations.”