Our Farm

Our story begins in 1840 when our ancestors, the "Markut" family, sailed from Switzerland to New Orleans, taking the steamship up the Mississippi River to the Bond- Madison County area of southern Illinois. Once settled in America, the Markut name was changed back to a previous old world spelling "Marcoot". By the mid-1800s, our ancestors were raising and milking Jersey cattle. We have even been able to find dated "Marcoot Jersey Farm" letterhead dating back to the 1850s. We are extremely proud of the fact that seven generations of our family have raised Jersey cattle.

Fast forward with us to 2007. Our parents, John & Linda Marcoot, came to us with the realization that they were thinking about the succession of the farm. They gave us the choice to either continue the dairy or to pursue our own desires and attend college. Our original plan was to finish our Undergraduate and Master’s Degrees then pursue careers off the farm. However, it didn’t take us long to realize we wanted to continue in family heritage in the dairy business. Luckily for us, our Dad still manages the Jersey herd today.

In March 2010, we embarked on a new adventure in the legacy of the Marcoot Jersey Farm by creating our first wheels of cheese. Sustainability is a key component for our family and farm and it guides the methods in which we take care of our herd, the way we produce our cheese, Extreme Ice, and Dog-O’s Treats as well as the design of our facility. Our cheese is made solely from the milk of our own Registered Jersey, primarily grass-fed cattle. Our 100 milking Jersey cows enjoy pasturing on the paddocks in a variety of grasses to provide abundant natural nutrition. No hormones are given to our cattle.

Our cheeses are all aged in our underground aging cave. The cheese cave is designed after the man-made cheese caves in Switzerland to provide natural aging for our cheese while providing energy efficiency and sustainability for the creamery.

In 2018, our cheesemaker (who happens to be our long-time best friend), Audie, started working on developing a new product using whey (a by-product of cheesemaking). After a few months of research and development, Audie created the frozen treat called Extreme Ice. A delicious frozen treat using crushed fruit, whey, and whey isolate packed with 20 grams of protein in only 5 ounces. Audie also created our newest product called Dog-O’s Cheesy Chompers, a dried cheese treat for dogs! Dogs love cheese too!

We’d love for you to visit! Our creamery also has large viewing windows where visitors can watch as we make cheese. Guests are also invited to visit our calves, housed near the creamery as well as our automated Robot Barn to watch the cows milk. Our goal is to create premium products and provide experiential education to our guests. For more information about our farm and creamery tours visit here.

Hope to see you soon!
Amy & Beth Marcoot