Lynne Reeck of Nerstrand, MN-based Singing Hills Goat Dairy doesn’t have to brag about how delicious her goat cheeses taste. Her customers do it for her.

“The last time I bought a bag of cheese curds I ate them all in one sitting,” confessed one regular while stopping by to pick up more curds.

Enthusiasm is a common thread with Reeck’s customers, many of which return weekly to pick up their favorite cheese.

“The nice thing about doing farmers markets is the feedback and the community,” Reeck commented. “After working hard all week in isolation, it’s nice to get out and talk to people.”

One of Reeck’s staple products is chevre, a creamy cheese that works in everything from quiche, to salads, to scalloped potatoes.

Reeck has slightly different products every week and regularly sells feta, kefir, and fresh cheese curds.

Singing Hills sits on 25 acres of grassland, hay and pastureland adjacent to Big Woods State Park in southern Minnesota.

The goats graze on the rolling hillsides in small groups. In hot weather, Reeck checks in with the herd frequently to make sure they have plenty of fresh water and shady spots to get out of the heat.

Reeck said she didn’t start out as a goat farmer.

After 8 years of farming vegetables, Reeck and co-farmer Kate Wall realized that the land was better suited for raising goats.

Reeck had interned with Mary Doerr of Dancing Winds Farms and knew she wanted to make cheese.

After more extensive training in cheese-making, and learning more about holistic herd management, Reeck said, Singing Hills Goat Dairy received a loan through the Farm Service Agency and moved forward with their plan to start a cheese plant at their farm.

“Getting a business going is a tough thing to do,” she said, speaking of the process of getting the loans they needed to start the dairy.

Reeck said what she liked about her job is working with the goats and making cheese.

She described the process of milk multiplying to create curds and whey. When making cheese, one always ends up with more than they started with, she said.

“Cheese making is sort of magical in that way,” Reeck said.