Baetje Farms - Where Passion Meets Pasture!
Nestled in the rolling hills of Bloomsdale, Missouri, Baetje Farms is more than a creamery—it’s a living testament to the artistry of cheesemaking and the power of purpose-driven farming. Known for their award-winning French-inspired goat cheeses, Baetje Farms began humbly with a single goat and a dream shared by founders Steve and Veronica Baetje. Decades later, their vision continues under the stewardship of Cara Naeger, who brings a deep respect for the farm's roots alongside a fresh commitment to sustainability, animal welfare, and culinary excellence. Cara’s leadership is fueled by an uncompromising mission: “The best cheese starts with the best milk, and the best milk comes from animals in peak health and happiness.” It’s a belief that echoes through every hand-shaped wheel and velvet-soft chèvre the farm produces. In this exclusive interview with Delivery Rank, Cara shares her journey, the mission that drives Baetje Farms forward, and why true artisan cheese is as much about the process as it is about the product.
Baetje Farms has such a rich legacy—what inspired you to continue and co-own this incredible operation, and how has your vision evolved since stepping into this role?
We have always loved Baetje Farms Cheese! We have a local restaurant in Bloomsdale called Dew Drop Inn + The Kozy and we featured their product on our menu prior to owning Baetje Farms. So when the farm became available we were already in love with the product and it was a local business in our community that we wanted to see continue! When we purchased the farm it was not open to the public, we had a vision to bring agritourism to the farm and let people come see what amazing things were happening here! With that we built The Artisan, a venue space that is used for community gatherings such as weddings, specialty parties, and corporate events. We host in house events for the community such as Mother's Day Brunches + Breakfast with Santa to our Goatoberfest and Wine & Cheese Festival! Guests can now also stay on the farm in one of our luxury Tiny Homes! So now you can have a full experience of touring the creamery and staying on the farm to share in one of the best days of your lives and getting married on the farm!
With so much care going into the well-being of your goats, what’s a day in the life like for your animals, and how do you think that directly translates into the quality of your cheese?
We work directly with a father and son Amish family for our goat milk supply. They pride themselves on avoiding antibiotics when possible and providing the best grain and health for the goats. Their milk supply is a direct reflection in the quality of our cheese! For biosecurity of our products all milkers are offsite. Onsite we regularly have white sannen goats on our farm that we raise. On the farm our guests can love and play with the goats without the risk of biosecurity concerns. The goats love being petted and enjoy grazing in the farm's pastures, their home is a big Sears & Roebuck barn that has been on the farm since 1912!
You’ve mentioned the importance of French and Danish techniques—how do you balance honoring traditional European methods with embracing American innovation in artisan cheese making?
Yes, Ste. Genevieve is a French inspired town! This area is one of the oldest settlements built west of the Mississippi River as the French settlers came down the river from Canada in the early 1700’s. They stopped here for the diversity of the land and rick soil conditions for growing crops. Baetje Farms honors that french tradition by offering french inspired cheeses! Our super gold award winning cheese called “Bloomsdale” is inspired by the very old French cheese "Valencay”. Originally the Valencay cheese was shaped like a perfect pyramid with a pointed top. However, upon Napoleon's return from his disastrous campaign in Egypt, he stopped at the castle of Valencay and seeing the cheese that so reminded him of the pyramids, in a rage he drew his sword and chopped off the top. This cheese has been made with a flattened top ever since that day. We decided to choose the name "Bloomsdale" because its shape reminds us of the hills surrounding us where our farm resides.
Sustainability seems to be woven into the DNA of Baetje Farms. Can you share a specific initiative or practice that you’re most proud of in terms of environmental responsibility?
This past year we have launched our new goat cheese spread jars. These have reduced the loss of product waste by 20% of our cheese, in addition it has eliminated the use of multilayers of drying materials that are no longer needed by moving to these jars!
What’s next for Baetje Farms? Are there new cheeses, partnerships, or expansions on the horizon that you’re particularly excited about?
Within the last year we just hand crafted our cheese into a goat cheese spread that comes in easy jars for our customers to experience more of our product! Artisan hand crafted cheese is so special that we are working hard to continue to share what we do with as many people so they can experience it! With the expansion of our luxury Tiny Homes that were built on the farm we are looking to find more ways for guests to come and visit the farm and enjoy our wonderful community!
To read more about Baetje Farms, please visit https://baetjefarms.com/