Cypress Grove Chevre the Latest Success Story from the NLPA Sheep & Goat Fund

Colorado Springs, CO (April 1, 2008) – Cypress Grove Chevre has a lot to celebrate this year. In January, the company reached its 25th anniversary and earlier this month it paid off its loan with the National Livestock Producers Association’s Sheep & Goat Fund.

“We are so grateful to the NLPA Sheep & Goat Fund and Tri-State Livestock Credit for helping us grow Cypress Grove so significantly over the past three years,” according to Mary Keehn, who founded the company in 1983 and remains its cheese master. “We simply could not have done it without the Sheep & Goat Fund’s financial support.”

Three years ago, Keehn approached the NLPA Sheep & Goat Fund to aquire money to build a new, state of the art creamery to increase her capacity and to help grow the local milk supply. The funds were used to add processing equipment, to expand the facilities, and increase the number of goats locally by more than 60 percent.

Cypress Grove Chevre is a leading producer of fine American goat cheese, including the top-selling American artisanal classic, Humboldt Fog. Cypress Grove continues a tradition of innovation by introducing original American cheeses to the marketplace. Cypress Grove produces fresh, soft-ripened and aged cheeses and was awarded Outstanding Product Line at the 2007 Fancy Food Show New York City. Based in Arcata, Calif., Cypress Grove’s award-winning family of products are found at fine retail outlets and dining establishments throughout the United States.

“Cypress Grove has been an excellent customer for the NLPA Sheep & Goat Fund because they are not only working to improve their business, but has also had a local and national impact on the goat milk industry by creating a stronger market for other goat dairies,” according to Bob Bergsten, President of Tri-State Livestock Credit Corporation. “Tri-state has serviced this loan for the Sheep & Goat Fund and Cypress Grove is a perfect example of how this fund is supposed to work. The Fund is designed for companies that have the potential to positively impact the sheep and goat industry, but need flexible, low-interest financing that may not be available through the traditional outlets.”

The Sheep & Goat Fund was established in 1999 when an agreement was signed between NLPA and the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center, which is now the American Sheep and Goat Center. The agreement enables funds to be used in the sheep and goat industries through a revolving loan program. The NLPA Sheep & Goat Fund is used exclusively for loans with the following goals:

  • To make capital available for enhancing business methods and services.
  • To improve marketing efficiency and product quality.
  • To promote coordination and cooperation within the industry.
  • To create opportunities for adding value to sheep and goat products.

NLPA has the ability to service and administer this important program and was selected for their ability to provide:
  • expertise with livestock production, processing and marketing-related lending;
  • nationwide capability in urban and rural areas; and
  • the ability to process and service loans from all segments of the sheep and goat industries; from production through the packer/processor/retail level.

For more information or an application please contact the National Livestock Producers Association at (800) 237-7193. More information and the application are also available at www.sheepandgoatfund.com.

For more information about Cypress Grove Chevre, visit their web site at www.CypressGroveChevre.com or call 707.825.1100. More information about Tri-State Livestock Credit Corporation is also available online at www.Tri-StateLivestockCredit.com or call 800 778-8734.

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The National Livestock Producers Association, founded in 1921, is an organization of livestock marketing cooperatives and credit corporations representing more than 215,000 livestock producers nationwide.
 

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