A tour like no udder! Travel with CUESA to the rolling hills of Petaluma. We’ll visit two dairies: Achadinha Cheese Company, where Donna Pacheco makes award-winning cheeses by hand with milk from her own goats, and Saint Benoit Yogurt, located at the Diamond M Dairy, where Benoit de Korsak crafts small batches of organic French-style yogurt from Jersey milk. Tour attendees will see the goats and cows in their pastures, learn about how they are raised and milked, and get a close look at the cheesemaking and yogurt making processes from start to finish.

The tour includes lunch made with farmers market ingredients.

There is no official minimum age, but the tour is geared toward adults and not recommended for children under 12.

Where to meet: Meet at the Ferry Building (in the front, south side of the clocktower). Be there between 8:00 and 8:15; we leave at 8:30 am. Please be prompt! We cannot wait for stragglers.

Marin attendees: We have added a Marin County pickup at the Manzanita Park and Ride lot in Mill Valley. It's located right off 101 at Shoreline Highway 1 on the west side of 101. (Click here for map.)  If you will be waiting at this location, please be there by 8:45 at the latest; the bus should be there approximately 8:55 am but could arrive eariler or later. If you will be catching the bus in Marin please email julie@cuesa.org to let us know.

Note: The weather could be very dry and hot. We will spend time both outdoors and indoors. The bus is air conditioned.

What to bring: water bottle, sun protection, layered clothing, comfortable closed toed shoes that can get wet (note: to enter the dairy you will have to step in a sanitizing bleach solution approximately 1" deep). Also consider bringing snacks, a camera, and a book or other entertainment for the bus

We will do our best to return by 5 pm, but traffic conditions can be unpredictable and we can't guarantee punctual arrival.

This tour is organized by CUESA, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture, as part of our mission to cultivate a sustainable food system. CUESA organizes 5-6 tours each year to Ferry Plaza Farmers Market farms and artisan food businesses in order to give eaters a first hand look at where their food comes from and how it is produced. For more information or to sign up for our weekly email newsletter, visit www.cuesa.org.

We sincerely thank our farm tour sponsor, First National Bank of Northern California, for underwriting tour costs and Coach 21 for providing a discount on the bus charter fee.