“We are producing our highest quality raw material – natural milk from our grass-fed Pedigree Dairy herd of cows for over 60 years.”
Our Farm
Kylemore Farmhouse Cheese is a unique, premium Irish farmhouse cheese produced directly on Teresa’s family farm in Co. Galway.
Their unique award-winning cheese is a mountain hard type cheese, inspired from the Swiss Alps. It is fully traceable and sustainable from farm to fork, Bord Bia – Origin Green approved.
The dairy herd is comprised of all pedigree Holstein Friesians. Their herd is considered a “closed herd” meaning, no other cattle are brought in; they have all been bred and born on the farm.
Your Food
Kylemore Farmhouse Cheese is only produced in the months of April to October and is matured for a minimum of 5 months. This natural washed rind cheese has a creamy, nutty buttery flavour. They specialise in long-aged cheese and offer three different age profiles: one, two and three years of age.
All of the cheeses are handmade at the foothills of the Slieve Aughty mountains, Co. Galway in Kylemore 'downtown' to the monastic village of Abbey. The fertile grounds of the environment in which the cows graze, is rich in minerals and helps influence the flavour of the cheese. In addition, the green lush grass, that is the main component of the cows diet, gives the cheese its natural yellow colour. It takes fifty litres of milk to make one, five-kilogram wheel of cheese. Kylemore Farmhouse annually produces between five to seven tons of cheese per year.
Throughout the year they offer educational farm and cheese tours and a traditional afternoon tea at their 200 year old period farmhouse. Tours can be booked through their online shop.
Shared Future
Teresa believes that the future of farming is ‘farm diversification’, adding value to raw materials and creating sustainability through alternative enterprise on farms. Originally producing milk for the local co-op, Teresa’s family farm diversified into cheese production to add value to the farm.
Kylemore Farmhouse Cheese practices various environmentally sustainable farming and cheese making methods. As a participant of the “Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme” (GLAS), Teresa’s farm contains kilometres of hedgerows and forestry, which helps improve the biodiversity found on her farm. They grow and harvest their own silage on site to feed the cows during the winter months (when grass growth is minimal).
During the cheese making process, the leftover whey is recycled back into the farm food-chain. Leftover whey is distributed back onto the land to help grass and clover grow, which is then eaten by the cows. Additionally, Kylemore Farmhouse Cheese does not use plastic in their packaging process.
Teresa is working towards implementing new tools and technology to increase her farms efficiency and sustainability measures. These include a new pasteuriser, curd comb and drainage table, which will additionally allow her to become more innovative in the farms cheese production.
It is Teresa’s hope to keep the farm in the family and is passionate about teaching the next generation on where their food comes from. She offers tours for school groups and the general public.
“I am passionate about empowering women in agriculture and creating jobs in rural Ireland to enhance health and well-being in our community”