Mt. Gilead, OH — Ohio’s first and only sheep dairy and cheesemaker—KokoBorrego Cheese Company—is now open and producing raw sheep’s milk cheese and two kinds of raw cow’s milk cheese. Ben and Lisa Sippel, in partnership with Lisa’s brother, Delaware, Ohio resident Ben Baldwin, started the company after two years of planning and development. Their raw cow’s milk cheeses, Headwaters Tomme and Moraine, are now available. Their raw sheep’s milk cheese, Owl Creek Sheep Tomme, will be available in May.
The handmade cheeses are produced in the Sippels’ facility on their 77-acre farm in Morrow County and will be aged at least 60 days in a temperature- and-humidity-controlled “cave room.” The facility has a Grade A license from the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
The sheep’s milk comes exclusively from the Sippels’ flock. The cow’s milk is directly, and only, from the Ed and Marvin Ruhl Farm in Morrow County. The cheeses will be sold at the Clintonville and Worthington farmer’s markets, as well as in local stores and restaurants.
“Sheep were the original dairy animal, and we’re producing cheese in the classic European tradition. We’re excited to offer these cheese in addition to our farm-grown, chemical-free produce and naturally raised beef and pork,” said the Sippels.
The name of the company is a combination of “Kokosing,” for the river that rises in northeast Morrow County, and “borrego,” which means sheep in Spanish.
On the Sippels’ 77-acre farm in northern Morrow County, they grow more than 25 acres of produce and raise beef and pork. The Sippels, who grew up in Worthington, Ohio, purchased the farm in January 2004 when they were just 23 years old. They offer Community Suppported Agriculture (subscription farming) from May to mid-November, which is one of the longest seasons offered by local producers.
For more information, call Ben Sippel at 614-563-1139, Lisa Sippel at 419-560-3559 or send an e-mail to sippelfamilyfarm@brightchoice.net.
Source: KokoBorrego Cheese Company