Iowa All Over: Milk a goat, taste goat cheese, see the view

POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY — On a hot June afternoon, artisan cheesemaker Sharon Oamek leads her herd of 50 goats up a hill where they feed. The goats dine on stems, leaves and branches.

The walk is a chance for Oamek to check on the goats' health and get some exercise herself.

From the top of the hill, visitors can take in the view of the lush green Loess Hills.

'I love being here because we're just outside the metro area yet you feel like you're out in the country,' Oamek said. 'It's just such a treat.'

Her Honey Creek Creamery in Honey Creek, about six miles from Council Bluffs, in Pottawattamie County, produces a variety of goat cheeses, including basil garlic, dill, smoke flavored and its most popular, cranberry horseradish. There is also a sweet lemon verbena and honey goat cheese and a seasonal raspberry chevre.

Honey Creek Creamery products are available in grocery stores, including Lucky's Market in Iowa City, at farmers markets and online.

Customers also can order Honey Creek cheese through a community supported agriculture program, or CSA, which delivers the cheese to seven locations. Of the 200 goat dairies in Iowa, Honey Creek Creamery is one of just three that make cheese, Oamek said.

The cheese process takes four days to go from mother goat to cheese. Cheese is made every two to three days.

Oamek said smaller operations such as her goat farm are more manageable for women farmers across Iowa.

'There's no glass ceiling when you have your own business,' she added.

During the warmer months, the creamery is part of an area-wide tour called Living Loess. The tour includes nine attractions in the region, all within 20 miles of one another in the Loess Hills in Pottawattamie and Harrison counties.

Every third Saturday from April through October, visitors can stop at the sites as part of the driving tour. Other stops include the Hitchcock Nature Center in Honey Creek, Harrison County Historical Village and Iowa Welcome Center in Missouri Valley and Loess Hills Woodworks in Crescent.

Visitors to the creamery have the opportunity to milk a goat.

Visitors who successfully get a 'passport' stamped at all nine locations can enter a contest for a chance to win a prize.

If you go

What: Honey Creek Creamery

Where: 25593 Old Lincoln Highway, Honey Creek

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., third Saturdays from May through October and tours by appointment.

Admission: $5.

Call (402) 690-9252 or go to honeycreekcreamery.com.