Jodi Ohlsen Read runs Shepherd’s Way with her husband Steven in Nerstrand, Minnesota. Neither of them grew up on a farm, but in 1995 they decided to ignore their inexperience and dive in head first to start a sheep dairy. They made their first sheep’s milk cheese in 1998 and quickly began winning awards and a following. Their cheese is farmstead, which means that they’re making the cheese on the farm, on the same land where they care for the animals (rather than buying milk from an outside source). They raised their four sons on the farm, where they also care for chickens, ducks, and a few whey-eating pigs, along with their 225 East Friesian ewes. They focus heavily on caring for the environment, incorporating agroforestry and native plants to create healthier soil, better pastures, and happier sheep.