A Goat's Milk Cheesemaking Business

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In August of 1978 Jerry started, singlehanded, to construct a 50' X 80' goat barn. His plan—which included provisions for hay and grain storage, pens for kidding and weaning, feeding troughs, and a large lounging area—was designed to allow one-person construction. Two storage sheds, placed at opposing ends of the barn, support a free-span trussed roof. The result is a handsome, functional 125-goat structure . . . built at a materials cost of $7,000.

Once the goats were moved into their new shelter, Jerry was free to begin turning the cinder-block shell into a cheese factory. First, the dirt floor was dug out, drains were set, and a concrete slab was poured. Then, to comply with regulations requiring all aspects of the cheesemaking operation to be physically separated (even though the compartments could be under the same roof), Jerry partitioned the building—using six-inch concrete blocks—making a four-station milking parlor, a milk storage room, a cheesemake room, and a receiving vestibule.

The vestibule was designed to satisfy the requirement that, in the event the Aiellos someday decide to buy additional milk for cheesemaking, they have a separate room to receive the "imported" liquid. Furthermore, the regulations also specified that none of the rooms in the actual factory could open into each other. As a result, the ten-foot vestibule contains four doors. "It looks a little weird," Jerry admits, "but we comply with the rules." (See the accompanying diagram for a visual explanation of the Aiellos' plant and the maze of doors.)

In addition to keeping the costs down by doing his own construction, Jerry was able to save money by making some wise buys on used equipment. A 150-gallon refrigerated milk storage container was bought, used, from a small dairy for $250 (it would have cost $2,500 new). The double-walled stainless steel cheesemaking vat is actually a second refrigerated storage tank, purchased for $150. Jerry resourcefully replumbed the unit and installed a 5,500-watt element to heat the water that's circulated between the vat's walls.

Milk is transferred, from the storage area to the cheesemake room, by means of a circulating pump (it was bought used, too) and Tygon tubing (purchased new, at an excruciating $5.00 a foot). In compliance with dairy regulations, the wall opening through which the tubing is inserted can be capped, so the milk storage and cheesemake rooms are fully separated.

After checking into the cost of new coolers in which to age the cheese (the best deal was $5,000 for an unassembled unit), the Aiellos purchased the body of a refrigerated truck for $700 . . . and paid a mechanic another $100 to set the "box" in working order. Stainless steel sinks, a water heater, drain lines, epoxy paint and wall coverings, and other necessities were bought after judicious comparison shopping. In all, the total cost of remodeling and equipping the cinder-block building for cheesemaking came to around $10,000.

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