On weekends in the Catskills, the longest tasting flights aren’t poured in wineries but in creameries: wedges of young Gouda, bottles of raw milk, curds still warm from the vat. This is agritourism’s latest draw, where artisan cheesemaking and small-herd dairying are turning farm lanes into destination trails—and fueling the region’s visitor economy. The place is built for it: cool nights and high meadows that sweeten pasture grasses; cold, clean watershed water that makes for cleaner milk; glacial soils dotted with clover and wild herbs; and a tradition of multigenerational farms willing to pivot from commodity milk to value-added craft. At ByeBrook Farm in Bloomville, eighth-generation dairyman Dennis Deysenroth channels all of that into nutty wheels and a roadside farmstand, the kind of farm where weekenders meet the cows, learn the pasture-to-plate story, and leave with a trunk full of cheese—and plans to come back.
Deysenroth runs the 240-acre dairy farm and cheese-making operation with his wife, Sami, and parents, Paul and Gwen.
“Instead of growing the size of the farm, we grew the value-added side. That’s been very beneficial, because my wife and I are able to run the farm with my parents.”
The value-added side he refers to is cheese. In 2009, after returning from college, Dennis faced a crossroads: expand the herd or diversify. The family chose to start making Gouda, first at an off-site creamery and later in their own licensed plant. They added raw milk bottling soon after, selling products directly at their farmstand along county Route 18 in Bloomville. Today, ByeBrook’s cheeses appear on local restaurant menus and in small markets across the region.
For Paul Deysenroth, the decision was transformative. “I enjoy the farmstand a great deal,” he said. “When you feel down about farming, and you visit with your customers, both the local and part-time residents, they give us a lot of encouragement and support to keep farming.”
ByeBrook’s story stretches back more than two centuries. The land was first leased in 1787 by Patrick Lamb, an immigrant stowaway on a cattle boat. After the Anti-Rent War, the family became its owners, and the farm has passed down through eight generations since. Gwen’s grandfather milked Jersey cows from the 1930s to 1950s, and her father and uncle transitioned to Holsteins in the 1960s. A barn fire in the 1970s ended dairying for a time, but the tradition was revived when Paul and Gwen began milking again in 1985.
Today, the family milks about 40 Holsteins and raises 35 heifers and calves. The cows graze on carefully managed pastures in summer, rotated daily behind portable fencing. In winter, they feed on dry hay and baleage harvested from the farm’s fields. “We feed what we grow,” Dennis said. “We also use the precision feed program from the Watershed Agricultural Council and Cooperative Extension to help feed our cows better, keep them healthier, and reduce our costs.”
That attention shows in production. “During the summertime, our cows run between 70 to 80 pounds [of milk] per cow per day,” Dennis explained. “In wintertime, it’s more like 85 pounds. Keeping a consistent diet helps with production.”
Roughly 15% of ByeBrook’s milk now becomes cheese or bottled raw milk, with the rest shipped to a cooperative. Gouda remains their signature cheese, its rich, nutty flavor attracting locals and visitors alike.
The farmstand also sells baked goods and products from neighboring businesses, strengthening connections across the region. “We want people to know where their food comes from,” Dennis said. “Visitors are curious. They just want to know how it all works.”
Like many small farms, ByeBrook faces rising costs of feed, fuel, and insurance. Regulations and market pressures weigh heavily, too. But the family leans on resilience, tradition, and one another.
“We are very fortunate to have many family members, friends, and neighbors who help us,” Paul said. “We couldn’t do it without them.” Gwen, who keeps the farm’s books, added: “Getting good and high-quality forage is an important part of our farm’s success. It allows us to reduce grain costs and improve milk production.”
Sami, who juggles farm chores with raising four children, sees another measure of success: the next generation. “I enjoy the cows and calves and milking, raising my children on the family farm, and watching them learn from their dad and grandparents,” she said. “They’re farm kids - outside, in the fresh air. It’s good for them.”
For Dennis, the work is both practical and deeply personal. “You have to adapt,” he said. “You have to prepare for possible problem times and keep things as profitable as possible, doing a good job managing the cows, putting in good feed. Staying on top of things is worth more than anything.”
At ByeBrook Farm, cheese is more than a product. It is a bridge between past and present, family and community - an eighth-generation story of care, survival, and a taste of Delaware County worth savoring.
Located at 7531 County Road 18, Bloomville, NY 13739 | 607-538-9796
Dirty Girl Farm
114 Delaware Ave, Andes, NY 13731
845-676-4000
dirtygirlfarmandesny.com
Dirty Girl Farm is a small scale, kid-friendly, sustainable goat dairy and micro-creamery. They milk their own goats, pasteurize the milk and produce fresh cheese, yogurt and bottled milk.
Pepacton Creamery
1515 County Route 5, Bovina Center, NY 13740 | 607-832-4308
Pepacton Farms Creamery is a certified rganiz dairy and a fourth-generation family farm. The dairy hosts Jerseys, Brown Swiss and Ayshires. They produce small bacth cheese curds.
Wendy’s Nutty Cheese
Phoenicia, NY | 845-688-9823
wendysvegetariankitchen.com
Specializes in vegan, nut-based cheeses made in home-certified kitchen. Not traditional dairy-driven, but a creative alternative. Cheese varities include: Chipper Cheddar, Herb Chèvre , Cranberry Pumpkin Seed, Feta, Fig and Fennel and many others.
Acorn Hill Farm
5941 Route 209, Kerhonkson, NY 12446 | 845-800-4239
acornhillfarmny@gmail.com
A small family-run goat dairy producing a variety of artisan goat milk cheeses, yogurt and fudge using their homegrown goat milk. Also offer cheese making classes and farm tours.
Cotton Hill Creamery
518-827-8348
cottonhillcreamery.com
Cotton Hill Creamery has been producing fresh, delicious milk and cheese from Alpine goats in the hills of Middleburgh since 2009. Cheese varieties include: Lemon Garlic Goat Cheese, Horseradish Dill, Feta, Parsley & Chive and more. Cotton Hill also sells goat milk.
