The Parsons family has owned and run their farm for 250 years- since 1778. The farm has so much going on and there are so many family members involved, that we couldn’t possibly cover it all in this post. It’s pretty much all explained on their website in the About Us section- click here.
It’s always fun to see a chicken crossing the road!
Suffice it to say that they have their own maple sugar house and they make maple syrup the traditional way (no plastic tubing, etc.). They raise purebred cows and sell pasture-raised beef. They sell creamline milk (non-homogenized) and, they have a creamery where they make Cheese Curds, Skyr (pronounced “skier”), Fromage Blanc and Camembert. They sell it all and more in their farm store.
The farm stand on the right is open in the summer with corn and other vegetables for sale.
The Skyr comes in plain, maple and strawberry.
The Cheese Curds come in plain, chive, garlic, and buffalo flavored.
Question – How many creameries can sell maple Skyr with maple syrup from their own sugar house?!
This photo came from their Facebook page – click here.
The Creamery
In 2012, the farm received a grant which enabled them to build their own creamery. They opened in 2015. Margie and Kate Parsons (Margie’s daughter) run it and it has proven to be an important part of the overall business. Now, they bottle and sell their own vat pasteurized, non-homogenized milk and make cheese and maple cream.
Margie is retired from her job as the Westhampton treasurer and accountant, but now she works long days in the creamery. She has help 2 days a week from her assistant, Caitlin Small and Kate, who helps when she can. Kate works full time off the farm.
Caitlin was packaging Skyr when I arrived.
This Skyr was cooled before packing so moisture wouldn’t accumulate in the container.
Making Cheese Curds
On the cold winter’s day when I visited the creamery, Margie was making Cheese Curds while Caitlin was finishing with the Skyr.
Checking the pH.
After Margie had stirred the curds for what seemed to me like forever, Caitlin took over.
When the time was finally right, they drained the whey into buckets and carried it out to mix in with the cows’ feed.
When most of the whey was drained, Margie cut the curds into slabs.
The slabs were then placed on the draining table so the curds could knit together.
The slabs were then cut into strips and broken up into small pieces.
Some of the curds were flavored with a chive blend.
A variety of flavors of Cheese Curds waiting to be packaged.
The Milk
Recently, a system was installed to pipe milk from the barn into the creamery. Last year, Margie and Kate lugged 45,000 gallons of milk in pails! She still carries it in when she is doing small batches, so she won’t have to clean the piping system.
Margie’s 45 gallon vat doubles as a pasteurizer thanks to some impressive equipment on the wall.
After being pasteurized, the milk is pumped into bottles and this little machine seals the caps.
The Cave
The cave is currently being used for the Camembert, which Kate makes. It requires over 90% humidity.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Mayval creamery. On the way home, I managed to eat an entire 6 ounce package of their Buffalo Cheese Curds! Heaven!
Mayval Farm
137 Easthampton Rd.
Westhampton, Massachusetts
413-527-6274
Website: http://www.mayvalfarm.com/index.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mayvalfarm/
Farm Store Hours:
Tues-Sun, 8am-6pm
Margie at one of the many farmer’s markets she attends.
