Jack first discovered his love for goats after visiting a goat dairy in Northern California with his sister in high school. Shortly thereafter, he began procuring fresh goat milk and making his own cheeses at home while working at a startup in Palo Alto. Quickly finding himself drawn to cheesemaking more than anything else, Jack decided to purchase his own goats and move to Stepladder Ranch to take over his grandfather’s ranch operations and build a creamery. Michelle’s background is in event planning and wineries. She moved to the Central Coast to attend Cal Poly and never left. Jack and Michelle met during the inception phase of the creamery and have been managing the ranch together ever since.

Our goats are some of the happiest on the Central Coast! As a farmstead creamery, we raise our goats on the farm and make cheese from their milk, which allows us to manage every aspect of our cheese production.

Our herd of 70 goats graze on three acres of open pasture and oak woodlands and are protected by our dedicated Anatolian Shepherds, Lily and Gus. Our herd consists of all registered LaManchas, the only breed of goats developed in the United States, notable for their tiny ears. We begin breeding in the fall and the kids (babies!) arrive between February and April.