Rose Marie Belforti and her husband Tim Wallbridge run Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery, a micro-dairy where they keep a small herd of Irish Dexter cows and produce the nation’s only authentic, pro-biotic Kefir cheese. “I love my cows and their well-being comes first,” says Belforti. “I want them to have the best life possible.”

Irish Dexter cows are one of the world’s smallest breeds and Belforti allows them to express their natural behaviors-raising them on pasture and keeping calves with their mothers until they wean naturally. Belforti feels the loving attention she gives her cows is reflected in the taste of her cheese. Lauded for its tangy, nutty Old World flavor, her signature Kefir cheese is made from the Dexters’ milk and Kefir grains, a matrix of living microbial lactic bacterium and yeasts that have been used for centuries to culture milk. The cheese is naturally pro-biotic and easily digested and is sold grated, by the wedge or by the wheel.

Belforti sells through local businesses and off the farm and is pleased to be able to add the Animal Welfare Approved seal.

“The Animal Welfare Approved program reflects the concern I have for my animals,” she remarked, “and having its label on my cheese tells consumers that not only are they getting an ethical product, they are getting a superior product.”