Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery, LLC is Illinois’ first farmstead cheese making facility. On the rich prairie soils of Central Illinois, we have begun to transform the landscape from cash grain agriculture to diversified perennial fruit trees and berries, goat pastures, hayfields and prairie. We emphasize a forage-based diet for our dairy herd of Nubian and La Mancha goats—seasonal and diverse pastures and locally grown alfalfa and grass hay. Only their milk goes into our small batch, hand-crafted artisan cheeses.
In addition to our dairy and farmstead cheeses, we raise certified organic tree fruits and berries. Our four-acre orchard includes peaches, apples, pears, cherries, apricots and berries of all kinds—strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries and jostaberries. Fruit season begins with strawberries in mid to late May and ends with apples and pears in October.
Our farm vision is to integrate perennial crops and livestock production and add value to our products through on farm processing. We strive to educate our community about organic and sustainable agriculture and the connections between food production and consumption. We also hope to serve as a model for others interested in small-scale diversified farming systems. Little by little, we are working toward building a vibrant local food system in Central Illinois. We sell our products through local markets in Central Illinois including the Urbana Farmers' Market and some restaurant and retail locations in Champaign-Urbana and Bloomington-Normal. We also have cheese and fruits available for sale in select Chicago locations including the Green City Market, several restaurants, and cheese shops.
How we got here and where we're going
Wes Jarrell and Leslie Cooperband are the proud owners of Prairie Fruit Farm, LLC. In 2003, we moved from an urban and academic life in Madison, Wisconsin to Champaign Urbana Illinois. Through great friends and serendipity, we found our home and small farm just outside of town. That first year, we planted all of the land previously in cash grain (about 5 acres) with a lush cover crop of buckwheat to begin restoring our prairie soil. In 2004, we planted over 350 fruit trees and 600 berry plants AND purchased our first four Nubian goats (three does and one buck).
In August of 2005, we received our licenses for our Grade A goat dairy and farmstead creamery. Since then, we have expanded our herd to 50 milkers, put in a brand new milking parlor with a 14-doe stanchion and a pipeline that carries the milk directly from the udder to the refrigerated bulk tank. Our good fortune has extended to renting an additional 32 acres adjacent to our seven-acre farm so that we could grow more pastures, plant more berries and produce our own hay. All of these changes should move us along the path to greater sustainability.
Our Goat Herd
We strive to keep our goats as happy and healthy as possible. We manage our herd using sustainable practices, feeding them locally grown, top quality grass-alfalfa hay as well as grain during milking. We have a little over 11 acres of grass-legume-forb pastures in which the goats graze during the growing season. Although we supplement the pasture with alfalfa hay, rotating the goats through pasture paddocks helps to manage intestinal parasites and generally improve the health and wellbeing of our herd. Rotational grazing also allows the pasture to recover so that they can come back to graze the same area every 3-4 weeks. Our goats lead an enviously carefree life on the prairie.During the winter months when there is no pasture to graze, we house the goats in a very spacious and open Coverall Barn that allows for excellent air flow, lots of natural light and room for the number of animals housed there. We clean out their bedding routinely to minimize odor generation and reduce parasite loads. We also have a few laying hens who roam freely in and out of the goat pen. As they scratch and dig for bugs in the goat bedding, they consume potential parasites as well as fly larvae. This ‘biological’ pest control seems to be as effective as fly traps or sprays. 
