Thank You Locksley Farmstead Cheese Crew

This month we would like to introduce one of our hardworking team members, Holly Gansel. Holly braves the pre-dawn cold to take care of our animals, do the milking chores, and deliver milk to the creamery at the Ag District. Our cows are happy and healthy thanks to Holly and Steven and we all know that happy cows are the first step in producing high-quality farmstead cheese!

Hi, I'm Holly! I'm one of the farm hands at Locksley Farmstead Cheese. Previously, I worked at a vets office helping with both large and small animals. While I had never worked on a dairy farm before, I was already comfortable around large animals as I have horses and goats at home and really love working with animals. Currently, I am helping with day to day chores on the farm that include: milking cows (morning, evening and sometimes both), feeding heifers and bottle calves, cleaning the barns and helping Steven, our dairy manager, with lots of other cow, pasture and maintenance projects. As we milk twice a day, I have gotten to know more about cows, including their unique personalities and their spirited behavior. In the mornings, we start milking before the sun rises and I always anticipate God's beautiful sunrises that are set to the scenic view of the Bull Run Mountains on the farm at Locksley Estate. One of my personal favorite things about working on the farm is bottle feeding the newborn calves. It is so neat seeing their first steps at just barely an hour old and learning to suckle milk. Within a day or two they are bouncing around and so playful both before and after feeding! I am thankful that I have been given the opportunity to be a part of the team here at Chrysalis Vineyards and Locksley Farmstead Cheese!