Creekside Cheese + Creamery in British Columbia: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Creekside Cheese + Creamery is the on-farm cheese business of Creekside Dairy in Agassiz, British Columbia, a certified organic Brown Swiss dairy run by Johannes and Julaine Treur and their five children. The farm turned its milk into alpine-style cheese in 2021 and was nominated for the BC Outstanding Young Farmers award in 2023, making it a good example of a family dairy that added value without leaving the farm.
| Location | Agassiz, eastern Fraser Valley, British Columbia |
|---|---|
| Founded | Treur family bought Creekside Dairy in 2011; cheese production began June 2021 |
| Sectors | organic dairy; alpine-style cheese; organic beef; farm milk dispenser |
| Scale | Just over 100 cows per the farm's About page (its FAQ says about 90 milking, roughly 180 head in total); 72 acres owned plus rented parcels (Farms.com) |
| Why it is notable | Certified organic since 2012; 2023 nominee for BC Outstanding Young Farmers; farm cheese plant and aging cave |
| Ownership | Treur family |
| Official website | Creekside Cheese + Creamery official site |
History of Creekside Cheese + Creamery
The Treurs bought Creekside Dairy in 2011, after dairy farming at another location since 2003. Johannes immigrated from the Netherlands in 2002 and comes from six generations of dairy farmers, according to the farm's own story page. Farms.com reports that the farm became certified organic in 2012 and that the BC Milk Marketing Board provided extra quota to support the move.
The cheese business came later. The farm bought a complete cheese processing facility from a cheesemaker in Quesnel in early 2020, and building of the cheese shop and an underground aging cave began that November. Cheese making started in June 2021 and the shop opened in August 2021. In 2019 the family had already added Saturday beef sales, and it began sharing farm life on social media in 2014, which the farm says built demand for farm-direct dairy.
What Creekside Cheese + Creamery Grows and Raises
The herd is Brown Swiss, a breed chosen for cheese making. The farm says it transitioned from Holsteins over roughly 15 to 18 years. Cows graze from April to October when weather allows, eat a grass-dominant organic diet of farm-grown hay and silage with some dried peas and barley, and are bred naturally by herd bulls. The farm says it is certified organic by EcoCert Canada and meets Canada's ProAction Initiative, and reports that its cows often live ten years or more.
Milk is processed on site into artisan alpine-style cheeses aged in the cave. The farm also sells cream-top whole milk from a self-serve dispenser and offers farm tours, including guided tours on organic dairy farming and cheese making, as described by BC Dairy and the farm.
How Creekside Cheese + Creamery Makes Money
Farm-made cheese
Turning milk into cheese captures more value than shipping it as raw milk. The cheese shop sells directly to visitors, and the aging cave supports an alpine product line tied to the family's European roots.
Milk dispenser and beef
The self-serve milk dispenser sells cream-top milk straight from the farm, and the farm began Saturday beef sales in 2019. Both are direct-to-customer streams the farm describes publicly.
Tours and farm visits
BC Dairy lists the farm as a tour destination, and the farm offers guided tours on organic dairy farming and cheese making. Visitors who see the cows and the cave become repeat cheese buyers.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Creekside Cheese + Creamery
Add value in steps. The Treurs first built a following with organic farm-direct milk, then added beef, then bought an existing cheese plant with hands-on training instead of designing one from scratch. Buying proven equipment and know-how lowered the learning curve for a family new to cheese making.
Match the breed to the product. Moving from Holstein to Brown Swiss over many years shows that a processing goal can shape herd genetics, and a long transition spreads the cost. Dairies thinking about on-farm processing should plan inspection, licensing and marketing alongside the cows.
A dairy with its own cheese cave has a rare problem: the wheels are the only members of the family who get to relax for months at a time. If you enjoy farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes about Brown Swiss cows, alpine recipes and cave dwellers, farm.FM keeps the dairy puns aging nicely. Back in Agassiz, the Treurs take the milking, and the cheese, very seriously.
For context, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site and the home of Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Its contributors each keep an archive, and this one is a good sampler of ranch humor and farm jokes.
How to Contact Creekside Cheese + Creamery
Website: https://www.creeksidecreamery.ca/
Address: 3990 Chaplin Rd., Agassiz, British Columbia V0M 1A2
Phone: 604-796-8485
Email: info@creeksidecreamery.ca
Contact details as published on the operation's own website, November 2026. Store hours and tours are not stated in the sources reviewed; confirm before traveling.
Creekside Cheese + Creamery Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Creekside Cheese + Creamery: our story - Official history, herd and certification details
- BC Dairy farm listing - Provincial dairy association profile with address and tour information
- Outstanding Young Farmers Canada profile - 2023 BC nominee page for Johannes and Julaine Treur
- Farms.com on the BC nominees - Coverage of the farm's organic move and cheese plant
- BC Dairy facts - Provincial producer association background on BC dairy farming
Creekside Cheese + Creamery FAQ
Where is Creekside Cheese + Creamery?
It is at 3990 Chaplin Rd. in Agassiz, at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, as published on the farm's website.
What breed of cows does the farm have?
Brown Swiss. The farm says it moved from Holsteins to Brown Swiss over many years, partly because the breed suits cheese making.
Is the farm organic?
Yes. The farm says it has been certified organic since 2012 by EcoCert Canada.
Can I visit?
BC Dairy lists the farm as offering tours, and the farm has a cheese shop and milk dispenser. Confirm hours with the farm first.
Creekside Cheese + Creamery shows how a mid-sized organic dairy can add cheese, beef and tours without losing sight of the herd. For more operations across the province, see the British Columbia farms guide on this site.