Fiscalini Farmstead in California: History, What It Makes, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Fiscalini Farmstead is a family dairy in Modesto that has milked cows on the same land since about 1910 and has made its own cheese since 2000. Its bandage-wrapped cheddar was named Best Cheddar in the World in London in 2007, and the farm combines award-winning cheesemaking with feed production and a methane digester.
| Location | Modesto, Stanislaus County, California |
|---|---|
| Founded | Around 1910 on the current land; cheesemaking began in 2000 |
| Sectors | dairy; farmstead cheese; feed crops; renewable energy |
| Scale | About 500 acres of family farmland, only part used by the dairy (Cheese Professor); herd size not published in sources found |
| Why it is elite | Best Farmhouse Cheese in America (2002) and Best Cheddar in the World (2007) |
| Ownership | Fiscalini family, with the founder's great-grandson in the business |
| Official website | Fiscalini Farmstead official site |
History of Fiscalini Farmstead
The Fiscalini family came to California from Switzerland in the late 1800s and opened a dairy in Cambria. Around 1910 John B. Fiscalini moved to Modesto and began dairy farming on land the family still owns. For decades the family sold milk to creameries and processors.
In 2000 John Fiscalini began making cheese under the Fiscalini Farmstead brand. The first entry in a competition, San Joaquin Gold, won a gold medal in 2001. In 2002 the bandage-wrapped cheddar was named Best Farmhouse Cheese in America, and in 2007 the cheddar won Best Cheddar in the World in London.
What Fiscalini Farmstead Grows and Raises
The dairy grows roughly 70 percent of its herd's feed, including corn and wheat for hay, and recycles manure on its fields without commercial fertilizers. Its milk is used in the farm's cheeses and some is sold to Nestle, which verified the farm's sustainability practices.
Methane digesters turn farm waste into electricity, producing about three times what the farm uses, and the family has described work toward carbon neutral or negative certification. The cheese line includes San Joaquin Gold, an Old World aged cheddar, Purple Moon, a craft beer cheddar and the alpine-style Lionza.
How Fiscalini Farmstead Makes Money
Farmstead cheese
The cheeses are the margin driver. Making cheese from the farm's own milk turns a commodity into a branded product sold to specialty retailers, restaurants and online shoppers.
Milk sales
Some milk continues to go to outside processors, which provides a steady base while cheese volumes and markets develop.
Energy and feed
Digester electricity offsets farm power use, and growing most of the herd's feed reduces purchased inputs.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Fiscalini Farmstead
Fiscalini Farmstead shows that a dairy can climb from commodity milk to a premium product without changing its land base. Competition medals gave the family credibility with retailers, which is a low-cost form of marketing for any value-added producer.
The second lesson is to treat waste as an asset. Manure management, digesters and homegrown feed lower costs and give a sustainability story that buyers can verify. California dairies can ask CDFA about digester and methane reduction programs before investing.
A cheese that beat the world's cheddars in London started on a Modesto dairy, which is a plot twist that farm satire could not improve. At farm.FM our farm humor writers imagine the cows quietly accepting credit for the gold medals. We keep the ranch humor affectionate and the farm jokes cheesy, as the occasion demands.
farm.FM calls itself the nation's first satirical farm site, and between the headlines it spins Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers; a good place to start reading is this farm.FM columnist's archive.
How to Contact Fiscalini Farmstead
Website: https://fiscalinifarmstead.com
Only the official website is listed here; use the contact options on the farm's own site. Cheese sales and visits vary, so confirm before traveling.
Fiscalini Farmstead Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Fiscalini Farmstead official site - The farm's own website and cheese information
- Cheese Professor profile - Independent history of the family and its awards
- U.S. Dairy specialty cheese gallery - Industry listing for the California cheesemaker
- CDFA Dairy Marketing Branch - State dairy program resources
- Real California Cheese - Industry promotion of California cheese
Fiscalini Farmstead FAQ
Where is Fiscalini Farmstead?
It is a dairy and cheesemaker in Modesto, Stanislaus County, California.
What awards has Fiscalini Farmstead won?
Its cheddar was named Best Farmhouse Cheese in America in 2002 and Best Cheddar in the World in London in 2007.
When did Fiscalini begin making cheese?
The family began making cheese under the Fiscalini Farmstead brand in 2000, after decades of selling milk.
How does the farm use renewable energy?
Methane digesters convert farm waste into electricity, producing about three times what the farm uses.
Fiscalini Farmstead is a clear example of how a California dairy can build a premium brand on its own milk and land. For more on the state's dairy economy and programs, read the California farms guide and the other profiled operations.