Appleton Farm Now Making and Selling Its Own Cheese and Butter

Appleton Farms is now selling its own cheese and butter.

The Trustees of Reservations announced on Thursday that the farm, which is half in Ipswich and half in Hamilton, is selling cheeses and butter made from the milk of their registered jersey herd. Yogurt will also be sold in the next few weeks.

Appleton, which is the nation’s oldest working farm, is selling it in their dairy store, along with the farm’s milk, beef and eggs.

The construction and permitting the on-site dairy plant, located in the old bull barn behind the dairy barn, was completed in mid-September. The farm had previously been using Puleo’s in Salem to bottle their own milk.

“After more than a year of dairy plant construction, planning and permitting, we are excited to have a fully functioning retail dairy operation that offers more locally produced food to the North Shore community,” Farm Director David Beardsley said in the farm’s announcement. “What lies ahead promises to be one of our best stories ever at the farm – local dairy products made at the farm, for sale at the farm, from the milk of cows raised and grazed at the farm.”

Appleton Farm, which was founded in 1636, was donated to the Trustees of Reservations by the Appleton family in 1998, with a primary goal of educating and engaging the public through sustainable, local agriculture.

Some of the new dairy products include:

• Great Pasture Pub Cheese - a simple spreadable cheese
• Briar Hill Butter – barrel churned and hand packed
• Jimmy’s Barn Ricotta – fresh, light and creamy

Coming soon will be two ripened cheeses: A triple-cream St. Andre-style cheese and an aged cheddar.

The farm store can be reached off Route 1A at 219 County Road in Ipswich. To contact the farm, call 978-356-3825 for the dairy store or 978-356-5728 for the office or send an e-mail to appletonfarms@ttor.org.

The fall hours are Monday, Wednesday & Thursday: 2–7 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.–3 p.m.