Debbie began making her fresh goat cheeses in 2012 on her 10 acre ranch in Placerville, California. Her cheeses were beloved by the friends and family she gave them to, traded with, or sold them to. Upon moving to Oregon in 2017, Whinney and the best of the herd came along and Debbie began to build her cheese business up once again, now from her 21 acre ranch in Glendale, Oregon.
In 2021 Debbie’s daughter Rose founded Dreamcatcher Community Farm and from then on Whinney Cheese Company has grown along side Dreamcatcher and has represented both its first active program as well as its first source of funding. By supporting Whinney Cheese Company you are supporting the work of Dreamcatcher Community Farm and all the work we are doing to build a better future together.
Whinney Cheese Company goat milk cheese is made with farm fresh hand milked goat milk. It is made in small batches with love and care. The goats of Red Dirt Ranch are loved and cared for by a woman who regularly refers to goats as her “Spirit Animal". They are fed high quality alfalfa and they have acres of land to graze freely. Both herds are protected from predators by two sets of Great Pyrenees sheep dogs who lovingly protect their charges from harm.
Whinney Cheese Company has also recently begun producing hand made goat milk soaps. Our soaps are produced in small batches and are made from pure, natural ingredients with no artificial dyes or fragrances. Currently you can find both our cheeses and our soaps for sale at the Grants Pass Makers Market, Saturdays* from 9am to 1pm, May to October. *Debbie will not be there every Saturday. Check the community calendar for events and days where and when our products will be sold.
Welcome to Whinney Cheese Company
Meet Whinney, the OG (Original Goat), the Great^n Grandmother of the goat heard down on Red Dirt Ranch.
Although she wasn’t the first goat that Debbie started with or even the first goat she started milking, Whinney was the first keeper goat that would never be sold and who would keep her rank as the matriarch of the goat herd for over 10 years.
Even after a terrible illness in 2018 that nearly killed her, caused by a bad reaction to a toxic weed, Debbie nursed Whinney back to health. But after her long illness, Whinney was weak and was demoted to the bottom of the rankings. But never willing to give up without a fight, Whinney head butted her way back to the top of the goat pecking order where she reigned supreme until her passing in April of 2024.