Only organic – Victor farm, "Lifeline Inc., produces fresh beef, pork, milk and cheese free from chemicals and pesticides

Ernie Harvey started out growing organic vegetables. Then he added organic cattle. Then organic cheese and organic milk.

Now, he’s considering adding organic butter to the list of products from the 26-year-old Lifeline Farm http://www.montanamadeonline.com/lifeline/lifeline_products.htm
in Victor.

By DONNA SYVERTSON of the Missoulian

http://missoulian.com/articles/2004/01/18/hometowns/ht01.txt

Officially the farm manager, Harvey began operating a community garden in 1978. He took in a couple of partners – Stephen Elliott and Luci Brieger – and through the years, they have divided the duties. Elliott and Brieger tend the vegetables, flowers, herbs and lambs. Harvey is in charge of the dairy side: beef, cheese, fluid milk and pork.

On his 500 acres of leased land, Harvey raises and breeds his own cattle, feeds them twice a day with hay grown on the farm, takes their milk to the store in Victor where it is pasteurized (some is sold as milk, the rest processed into the eight varieties of cheese).

Harvey was busy Monday, pasteurizing the milk (under the watchful eye of an inspector) and creating a batch of cheddar cheese Tuesday. Harvey was making cheese because his usual cheesemaker had to have surgery for a hernia.

"It’s like milkers," he said, explaining that you have to have a backup. "If someone is sick, somebody else gets to do it. I like to do it."

His Brown Swiss cattle produce 20 percent more milk than other cows.

"It’s very substantial," he said. "A lot better flavor, too."

"I definitely grew up loving cheese … good cheese," he said. His Swiss background does not include a lot of cheesemakers, although a cousin tried it for a year.

"I love to cook and make things like beer and bread," he said. "It comes pretty natural to me."

Harvey was able to talk during a short break in the cheesemaking Tuesday. "It’s the only break you get," he said.

"After it’s pasteurized," he said, "you add your culture. Let it work (sit) about an hour, an hour and a half. Then add rennet, let it sit for one-half hour, then cut the curd.

"That’s not exact," he added.

It may be basic, but he’s right. It is not exact. Harvey doesn’t explain how the curd and the whey is separated. (Stir the mixture, cutting the curds and separating the whey.) Or what happens to the whey. (It is fed to the pigs.) Or how he cuts the 1,000 pounds of curd (which looks like whale blubber) and then turns it five or six times to help separate the whey and dry the curd. (He uses a sharp knife to cut it to a proper size and turns it to press out the whey.) Or how he sweats from lifting those 1,000 pounds time after time. (It is tough work.) Or when to add the seasonings. (At the end.)

"Cheesemaking is an art. With such high-qualilty milk, it’s easy to make cheese," he added.

The cheddar cheese that sits for two months is mild cheddar; six months is sharp and one year is extra sharp. "We increase our cash flow 20 percent every six months," Harvey said. Two-thirds of the cheese is produced in 24-ounce family packs, a different process than the usual eight-ounce pieces.

"That (smaller package) was expensive," he said. "Families now can get a (24 ounce) block to make a pizza and not be afraid that the kids will get in it. The price is down and the size is up," he said.

The whey, 88 percent of the mixture, is drained off and taken to feed the pigs back at the farm. It gives the meat a great flavor, "a noticeable difference," Harvey said.

"The flavor of the pork is just delicious," added Jim Sugarek, who is in charge of deliveries and sales for the company.

The products are offered in Missoula at the Good Food Store, the Orange Street Food Farm, Rosauers and Albertson’s. In Hamilton, they’re available at the Rainbow End Natural Foods, the Bitterroot IGA and the Hamilton Emporium.

The farm, west of Victor, is so organic that special Muscovy ducks – instead of chemical sprays – are used for fly control. Jennifer Holmes, Harvey’s partner, was feeding the cattle home-grown hay (since their usual feeder had gotten pneumonia) and caring for her newborn daughter, Isabelle.

Mad cow disease is not a problem at the certified organic Lifeline Farm. "It definitely puts a bad word out for beef. It’s a result of the process: industrialization of agriculture and treating cows like pigs. They’re (cows) herbivores, not meant to be eating each other," said Harvey.

Elliott, one of the partners, had joined the farm in about 1979. Soon thereafter, they borrowed money from Brieger, then a student, to buy a tractor. Brieger became involved in the farm just to keep an eye on her investment, Holmes teased.

Arriving about six years ago, Holmes is the newest team member after deciding to stay on when another worker retired. A Pennsylvanian, Holmes came to work in Montana on a CSA (community supported agricultural) project that allowed people to buy shares in the vegetables. Once a week, the investors would pick up fresh vegetables either at the farm or at a dropoff point.

Lifeline uses Bio Dynamics, a self-sufficient closed eco-system that uses farm-produced or carefully selected imported manure, in the garden. Their products are stamped with the Demeter logo, an organic certification company affiliated with Bio Dynamics, and the USDA-approved Stellar Certified Services.

Harvey got into the cheesemaking business after surviving a huge burnout, Holmes said. The truck ride back and forth to Bozeman, where the cheese was being made, was trying.

"He has always been looking for a place to move to over here," Holmes said.

So Ray Daguerre of the Victor Mercantile rented him a building in Victor.

Holmes is looking forward to opening a store soon in front of the business. "People ask when the cheese factory will open," she said. "I say two weeks. It has become a big joke: two weeks … two months."

Harvey is excited about making butter in another month or two, and selling it in their Victor business.

Time – a few weeks or months – will definitely tell.