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Article from 8 July 2010 issue of Bændablađiđ (Icelandic Farmer’s Weekly Newspaper) …

see page 2 for translation into English, courtesy of Scott

Making Cheese and Studying Icelandic at ErpsstađirU.S. Couple Karen and Scott Staley come to Iceland to pursue their interests and work at farm jobs in the Valley

The people at Erpsstađir in the middle valley got some good guests recently. They were a traveling American couple who stayed with them for ten days, she to learn cheesemaking with farmer and Dairy scientist Þorgrímur E. Guđbjartsson, and he to practice Icelandic … but he got a bonus being involved as a hand on the farm.

Bændablađiđ (Iceland’s Farmer’s Newspaper) met the couple, Karen and Scott Staley from Dearborn, Michigan, yesterday before they went home again. They were enjoying their stay which came about because Scott had been studying Icelandic for the past two years and she has been studying cheesemaking. They have previously come to Iceland, but now they decided to combine both interests and spend their summer vacation here studying.

It was not very easy to find a place to learn cheese and skyr-making in Iceland. “It took many months with me searching like a detective,” said Karen. “I went on the web and sent emails to people I know in this country. Finally, I got in contact with a woman from a farm travel service who connected me with Þorgrímur because he is related to her. Then the matter was settled quickly and efficiently – he invited us to come and said we could just stay on the farm with the family.”

Different RobotsThey are clearly very impressed by the operation at Erpsstađir. “This is an interesting business -- a relatively small, but automated dairy farm and milk processing facility which is open to the public,” said Scott. He was impressed by the milking robot, something he had not seen before. “I work in the auto industry, namely Ford Motor Company, and have just seen robots working there, but they are no more capable. This is clearly a technology based on laser positioning and it works well.”

Picture Caption: Karen and Scott Staley from Michigan in the United States pet calves at Erpsstađir

The couple are not country folk, but they live and work in Dearborn, which is the home town of Henry Ford and is part of the Motor City Detroit. Karen also worked for a long time in the auto industry, but switched to social work for several years. When the recession struck, her job was eventually eliminated and she decided to study cheesemaking. She has attended courses in the industry at the Vermont Center for Artisan Cheese and recently she has been working at a small creamery that specializes in making sheeps’ milk cheeses from a herd of almost 60 ewes.

“I also make cheese at home for us. Because we live in a city, I have to buy pasteurized milk from a dairy. There are strict rules that prohibit the sale of raw milk and milk products, as I understand to apply also here. It is possible, however, to establish a relationship with a farmer to own shares of goats, sheep or cows in order to get raw milk for making certain types of cheese. We have been talking about moving abroad after Scott is retired. The Azores islands are in the picture, but we are also interested in other parts of Europe, including Iceland,” said Karen.

Interested, Focused and PatientScott has been involved as a hardworking farm hand and does any task, and Þorgrímur says he is the best salesman he has had. “I am happy to do what I’m told, but not have to decide what needs to be done next,” he says and smiles. Indeed, he knows the experience of farm work, as he worked on a farm during summers between school years as a youth.

Karen says she is interested in working as a cheesemaker in a small creamery, not a factory-scale operation. “I think I have what it takes for this work. I am interested, focused and patient” she says and with that – goodbye to this nice couple who were experiencing both dry weather and rain in their short visit.

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