Natural Pastures

Amsterdammer Cheese

Natural Pasture’s story is about green meadows, happy cows, fresh thinking and age-old cheese making traditions taking place in the lush landscape of Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley.

Their specialty artisan cheese are known for having a unique, delicious taste, or "terroir," developed from the fresh, pure milk, which the pristine soils, waters and pastures produce here in the Comox Valley. They only use fresh milk produced on their selected Heritage Dairy Farms, which practice sustainable farming and animal stewardship. The designation means that the farmers must be good stewards of the land. The animals are stress free and live in healthy environments. Because the cows eat local grass and herbs, generously watered by Pacific Ocean-soaked rain, the milk used to make the cheese has its own "terroir," or distinct flavor. The term is familiar to wine-makers, where different regions have their own distinct terroirs.

Teamwork triumphing over adversity is a theme throughout their journey in producing world-class, medal-winning, delicious cheese. Brothers Phillip, Edgar and Doug Smith operate their third generation family farm in the Comox Valley as well as Natural Pastures Artison Cheese production in the city of Courtenay. They’re a small, specialty cheese producer born out of adversity, turning to cheese making in 2001 to find a home for their exceptional milk produced in the Comox Valley