Just off of West 86th Street in Indianapolis, a turn to the north on Moore Road, and you’re truly off the beaten path. The surroundings quickly change from suburban shopping centers and interstate highways to rolling farmland where historic barns dot the landscape. And if you spot a herd of brown Swiss cows, you’ll know you’ve found Traders Point Creamery, Indiana’s first certified organic dairy.
You might not see those cows right away, though, as they’re free to roam on the 112-acre farm. But they head in for milking every day, and visitors often stop in to watch.
The organic dairy, owned by Jane Elder Kunz and husband Peter “Fritz” Kunz and situated on family property, will mark its 20th anniversary this year. As they note on the creamery’s website, “We believe that the art of good cheese begins beyond the borders of our production room. It is rooted in the pastures that nourish our herd with carefully cultivated grasses for grazing and bailing. Our cows are fed a 100% grass diet so that the milk they produce is rich in nutrients, good fats and flavor.”
Those grassfed cows produce rich, creamy milk that becomes cheese, ice cream and, during the holiday season, some of the best eggnog around.
While much loved by locals, Traders Point Creamery cheeses have also gained national recognition; its spicy fromage, for example, took a first-place medal in the 2022 American Cheese Society Competition and its cottage cheese is an award winner too. The creamery’s glass packaging has won sustainability awards as well. The TPC lineup of cheeses includes an aged cheddar, an American-style blue cheese, a classic French-style tomme, and creamy washed rind and mold-ripened varieties.
You’ll find those products, as well as other local goods, at the Farm Store. Right upstairs is the Loft, a true farm-to-table restaurant that features fresh and aged cheeses produced on the farm, vegetables from the garden, hearty salads and proteins from other area farms as well. And of course, ice cream. In fact, the farm’s Dairy Bar is a popular stop itself.
Traders Point Creamery events, such as Christmas on the Farm, have become family traditions, and the farm’s scenic setting and rustic-chic barns make it popular wedding venue.
According to the website, those barns, painstakingly relocated from several Indiana locations, were a key part of the vision for the farm. “All our barns are 1860s vintage with hand-hewn beams reflecting an era of skilled hand craftsmanship, when even the wooden pegs were carved by hand.”
The Traders Point Creamery farm store is open daily; the Loft Restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday. Farm tours are also available. Check out the website for more info.
