Our Story
Pioneers of goat’s cheese production on the Mornington Peninsula
Proudly Australian made and owned, Main Ridge Dairy has been crafting award-winning goat cheeses since 2001. The first and still the only goat dairy on the Mornington Peninsula, Main Ridge Dairy 22 years later continues to produce under the new owners and passionate cheesemakers, who deliver the highest quality award winning cheeses to the area and beyond.
All our cheeses are proudly made from 100% farm fresh goat milk from our own herd of goats at Main Ridge Dairy. Our dairy also offers a true paddock to plate experience at Billies.
Our farm and dairy are located in Main Ridge on the Mornington Peninsula, just 90kms from Melbourne CBD. Our location presents us with the ideal climate for rich pastures of nutritious grasses to be enjoyed by our goats.
Handmade by people who love their cheese
Main Ridge Dairy and the farm on which it resides is a place to call home, for so many reasons.
“As soon as we laid eyes on the property, we knew this was where we wanted to be. Fortunate that there was already a successful dairy business established since 2001, the rest just made so much sense, the answer was a resounding YES!”
Sonia, Main Ridge Dairy Business Owner.
The Story
Planning what comes next has been underway for a few years now, combined with a desire to reside on a country property at some stage down the track. The Mornington Peninsula has long been a part of family life for the new owner’s family. Taking this one step further and creating a family legacy is part of the future. Alongside family, also important is to surround the business with those with just as much passion for its future, having fun, amongst the hard work, whilst all the while striving to achieve the main objectives.
With a love for Australian country bushland, combined with a great respect and desire to care for animals, both farm animals and wildlife, simply meant this location had it all. The land the goats were raised on has been loved and cared for meticulously by the previous owners with expanses of protected native vegetation combined with lush pastures. A perfect handover and the kindness and generosity of the previous owners convinced the new owners that they had made the right decision and settled on the right location.
In fact, all the ingredients were already there; but the secret ingredient is of course the cheese.
Sonia mentions “Not normally a believer in fate; but it seemed that way as this property also enabled goats to thrive and produce amazing milk which in turn, with some dedication also produced delicious cheeses. Cheese, particularly goat’s cheese has been a family favourite for many years.
Sonia has a strong vision to explore the goat cheese offering currently available and include additional flavours and styles to cheese boards, especially hard goat cheeses, which never fail to delightfully surprise those who try it.
Great cheese starts with great milk
Great milk starts with great grass
From the ground up
Our whole ethos, from the ground up, is to produce the highest quality goats milk to make the most delicious and delicate cheese available in Victoria. It all starts with the health of the soil. Our effort in improving the soil health is a priority. Healthy soil leads to healthier plants and in turn healthier goats and healthier produce for human consumption. We are committed to preserve our land using sustainable practises, these are at the forefront of everything we do.
Our Team
The Main Ridge Dairy team has one thing in common, passion. Passionate about making delicious tasting cheeses packed with farm fresh goodness and flavour and passionate about caring for our girls, the heroes of Main Ridge Dairy.
Bringing the next generation with ideas and enthusiasm to our team is integral to the growth of our business. We host French Agricultural Exchange Students to add to the richness of our journey.
Our Heroes
Kindness matters
We believe in kindness towards our animals and our environment.
We are passionate about the wellbeing of our animals, whilst at the same time working towards producing high quality milk from the very start.
Main Ridge Dairy is currently home to 200 goats. Our dairy goats are mainly of the Saanen and Toggenburg breeds and all of our girls are all individually named and cared for. Our dairy was built to be gentle on the goats, to be gentle on the milk. It’s simple, if the goats are in harmony with the environment, the result will be superior product.
Please note: at present we are not offering the goat tour or goat feeding experience at Main Ridge Dairy. Should this become available, we will advise here on our website and across our social media.
Read more about “A day in the life of a Main Ridge Dairy Goat”
Our Accolades
When you love what you do it shows, and we couldn’t be prouder of the awards our cheeses received over the years at Main Ridge Dairy.
In 2019 Main Ridge Dairy were awarded the champion trophy for ‘Best Medium Producer’ at the Australian Food Awards after winning 7 gold medals out of 9 entries. Main Ridge Dairy were also awarded a ‘Consistency of Excellence’ medal for our Marinated Chevre having won Gold for three years in a row. We are members of ‘Mornington Peninsula Produce’. The MPP Certified Trademark is a guarantee of provenance, giving consumers confidence in supporting their local farmers. Main Ridge Dairy proudly boast numerous awards since the dairy started back in 2001. Only the very latest accolades are noted with the current cheese descriptions above.
Patience is a virtue.
Good cheese takes time.
Preservation Zone
Located at the rear of the property is a preservation zone. We are a member of Main Creek Catchment Landcare Group. This area is not open for the public, its purpose is for the preservation of local flora and fauna. The birdlife on the property is prolific.
The owners are committed to putting animal welfare first. Connecting to wildlife and Landcare groups in the area to protect and improve that reserve including a link into a Wildlife Corridor. Two magnificent Wedgetail eagles visit the property regularly and look at the surroundings from way up high in the gum trees. The gum trees are Koala friendly, so fingers crossed one day, we may see some local koalas join our land. The land is ready and welcomes the local wildlife in.
