Cheese, creameries and dairy farms of Upstate New York

This guide is for readers who want to buy cheese, butter and milk close to where they are made, or plan a farm-store drive on a fall weekend. It covers farm creameries and cheese shops in Madison, Oneida and Otsego counties, two Finger Lakes cheesemakers within reach of Syracuse, and the big dairy businesses that shape the industry in Central New York.

Some of these stops are self-serve farm stands and others are full tasting rooms. Several keep seasonal hours, and a few close for the winter, so the hours below are marked where they change.

How New York dairy works

Dairy is the largest sector of farming in New York. Governor Kathy Hochul’s June 2026 Dairy Month proclamation, published by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, puts the numbers this way: New York ranks fifth in the country for milk production, with nearly 3,000 dairy farms, 98 percent of them family owned and operated. Those farms keep about 650,000 cows that produce 16.1 billion pounds of milk a year, and dairy accounts for nearly half of the state’s agricultural product sales. Milk has been the official state beverage since 1981, and yogurt became the official state snack in 2014.

Yogurt is a big part of the story here. In 2013 the state announced that New York had become the nation’s top yogurt producer, making 741 million pounds that year, according to an Agriculture and Markets release. The Daily Star covered a U.S. agriculture secretary’s 2019 visit to the Chobani yogurt factory in New Berlin, in Chenango County. Chobani’s own timeline lists Chobani Field opening in New Berlin in 2011 and a community firehouse there in 2020, and says the company announced a $1.2 billion facility in Rome in 2025, with more than 1,000 jobs planned.

Closer to Syracuse, Byrne Dairy dates to 1933. The company is headquartered in LaFayette and runs an extended-shelf-life and ultra-pasteurization plant in DeWitt that opened in 2004, a newer plant in Cortlandville that opened in 2022 and an ice cream center in Syracuse.

Madison County: butter on the honor system

In Hamilton, Kriemhild Dairy Farms slowly churns fresh sweet cream into butter with 85 percent butterfat, sold as Meadow Butter and a bakers’ butter. The milk comes from grass-fed herds, including the Hamilton dairy farm that owner Bruce Rivington’s family bought in 2000. Since late 2019 all of the butter has been made and packaged at the company’s own creamery in Hamilton. The name comes from a herd of Holstein-Friesian cattle that Gerrit Smith Miller imported from Germany to Peterboro.

The farm store, the Kriemhild Kupboard at 1093 State Route 12B, is open daily from dawn to dusk and has no staff. Customers add up their own total and make their own change, or pay with a card reader. Besides Kriemhild butter, the Kupboard stocks mushrooms, honey, eggs and other goods from nearby farms and makers. Kriemhild also sells at the Saturday farmers market in Hamilton.

Oneida County: a farm creamery and aged cheddar

Stoltzfus Family Dairy, Vernon Center

In Vernon Center, Stoltzfus Family Dairy at 6300 Skinner Road controls every step, from the herds to pasteurizing, bottling and cheesemaking. The farm store sells milk, cheese curds, butter, yogurt, cheese and meats, including snack sticks. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday; the store is closed Sunday.

Adirondack Cheese Company, Barneveld

North of Utica on State Route 12, Adirondack Cheese Company at 8190 State Route 12, Suite 1, in Barneveld specializes in New York State cheddar aged on site for one to seven years, plus flavored white cheddars and cheddar spreads. The shop also carries snacks, candy and gifts. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The shop ships orders but holds off in hot weather.

North Star Orchards, Westmoreland

The farm market at North Star Orchards, 4741 Route 233 in Westmoreland, sells aged cheeses alongside produce, bakery goods and apple cider. The Joseph family opened the farm in 1986, and the market is open from mid-April through December 24.

Otsego County: cheddar aged at the cider mill

At Fly Creek Cider Mill & Orchard, 288 Goose St. in Fly Creek, the cheese counter goes back to the Michaels family’s grocery on Main Street in Cooperstown, which sold cheddar cut from the wheel. Charlie Michaels bought the mill in 1962 and built an aging rack under the cider press. The mill still buys New York State cheddar from the supplier the Michaels family has used for six generations and ages the cheese on site in a temperature-controlled facility, sold as Mill-Aged Extra-Sharp. The mill is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through December 20, 2026, and accepts credit and debit cards, plus EBT/SNAP for qualifying purchases in the Mill Store.

Fly Creek is a member of the Central New York Cheese Trail, which the mill describes as 13 cheese producers and retailers in Otsego, Herkimer, Oneida and Madison counties. Pick up the trail’s brochure passport at any member, and visitors who reach at least nine stops get a free insulated tote bag. Kriemhild, Stoltzfus, Adirondack Cheese and North Star are on the trail’s 2024 brochure as well.

Finger Lakes cheesemakers within reach

Muranda Cheese Company, Waterloo

West of Syracuse, just south of Waterloo, Muranda Cheese Company at 3075 Route 96 grew out of Muranda Holsteins, the dairy Tom and Nancy Murray started in 1991. As a dairy, Muranda earned Dairy of Distinction recognition for more than 25 consecutive years, the family says. The Murrays began making cheese in late 2007 and now make more than 20 cow’s milk cheeses, including British Cheddar, Red Buddy and Muranda Blue. The tasting room is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the guided tasting of 12 cheeses running until 4:45 p.m. Small groups do not need a reservation, but groups of 10 or more should email ahead. Leashed dogs are allowed in the tasting spaces. The cheese plant is not open for tours. From May through November the barn has a covered deck over the pasture, and the bar pours Finger Lakes wine, beer and cider; live music runs from 2 to 5 p.m. on summer weekends between Memorial Day and Columbus Day.

Lively Run Goat Dairy, Interlaken

In Seneca County, Lively Run Goat Dairy at 8978 County Road 142 in Interlaken has made goat and cow milk cheeses since 1982. The farm says the Cayuga Blue took first place at the 2017 American Cheese Society competition. Visitors can taste cheese in the shop and see the goats in the barn. The farm is seasonal: posted hours are Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., May through October 25, and groups larger than six should reserve.

Good to know

These seasonal and date-specific items were checked as of October 2, 2026:

• Lively Run’s farm shop closes for the season after October 25. Fly Creek Cider Mill closes after December 20, 2026, and North Star’s market closes after December 24.
• The Kriemhild Kupboard is open daily from dawn to dusk. The store is unstaffed, so bring a card or cash.
• Adirondack Cheese Company does not ship in hot weather, so mail orders are a fall and winter option.
• The Little Falls Cheese Festival is on Main Street in Little Falls on Saturday, October 3, 2026, according to the events page of Shaw’s Maple Products, a Clinton maple producer that plans to attend. Check with the organizers for times and vendors.
• Each summer, The Great New York State Fair holds a Dairy Day; the 2024 edition was the 47th, and the fair’s butter sculpture marked its 56th year that same summer, according to the state agriculture department.

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