Jeanita and Rick Rand still recall the Sunday evening when opportunity knocked on the family's door. Literally. It was Oct. 13, 2002, at 9 p.m. Standing on their stoop was a woman visiting on behalf of a South Shore cheese maker who hoped his plans to retire might interest an entrepreneur. The woman immediately thought of the Rands, sixth-generation dairy farmers at Fox Hill Farm in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.

"It was an amazing coincidence," Jeanita says. "Like most farmers we were carrying a lot of debt, but our son was sure he wanted to stay in the business. We had been wondering what we were going to do. And then we got that knock on the door. It was like divine intervention."

Cheese making was something Rick had thought about for years but his father had discouraged him, convinced that dairy farmers need only concentrate on getting their milk to the processors. Rick wanted to add value to the high-quality milk his herd produced for Farmers Dairy.

 "We knew this was an opportunity we had to explore," Jeanita says. The family visited the retiring cheese maker's operation, looked into financing and commissioned market research. They were advised they had an ideal opportunity for a niche market in specialty cheeses, especially because of their proximity to local vineyards and the Halifax market. "We kept wondering, can we really do it?"

Nestled just outside Port Williams, NS, with a captivating view of apple orchards overlooking the Minas Basin and Cape Blomidon, the 150-acre Fox Hill Farm is home to 100 head of dairy cattle. The Rands also lease an additional 90 acres to grow hay. Once committed to launching the cheese business, the family built the two-level, 3,300 square-foot timber-frame building, to be called Fox Hill Cheese House, to hold their processing facility, cooling and storage areas, office and store.

Rick hired the retiring cheese maker as a consultant and took a course at the University of Guelph, which offers an intense five-day course every year as well as additional one-day training sessions. He set about learning the art of making cheese using traditional European methods. "Cheese making is a whole new skill set for me. I'm used to dealing with cows and crops," says Rick. "With cheese making you're not dealing with the environment anymore; it's all up to you. It's about timing and proper heating, and it takes a lot of patience." Jeanita echoes that sentiment: "The most important thing we took from the retiring cheese maker was the knowledge that to make quality cheese you start with quality milk, a good recipe and then you must be patient and meticulous."

Patience and persistence paid off for the Rands. They were fortunate to have obtained financing for their expansion into cheese processing just months before the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis hit the Canadian cattle industry. Markets to sell bred heifers, which used to sell for as much as $1,000 per animal, had plummeted to as little as $200 a piece. Lending institutions were leery of the sector. "We just managed to head that off and have our alternative market ready to go," says Jeanita. "It was like divine intervention all over again."

In May of 2004, the Rands made their first batch of cheese and after working diligently to meet requirements, Fox Hill Cheese House obtained both provincial and federal licensing. "It was important to us to get the licensing," Jeanita says. "It means we can export anywhere in the world, and that is because we follow the strictest of guidelines.  We wanted to have that credibility immediately."

To generate interest in their coming goods while they were still aging, Jeanita imported a variety of cheeses and headed to the nearby Wolfville Farmers' Market. "I wanted people to know we were making our own cheese and that we'd be bringing it to market soon." It was raining that first day. "We'd never sold at a farm market before. I remember turning to Rick and saying if we went home with $25 we'd be lucky." The Rands realized almost 10 times that in profit. "It was amazing. I couldn't wait to sell our own."

 That happened in July of 2004, at the official grand opening and launch of Foxhill Cheeses. "We hoped for a couple of hundred people," Jeanita says. "There were more than 800 at the cheese house. We couldn't believe our luck."

Fox Hill Cheese House is truly a family affair run by Jeanita and Rick with daughter Melissa assisting with cheese making and son Patrick tending the livestock. "Even though there are days when we get in each other's way, it really is nice to work with family," says Rick. Each takes great pride in controlling the entire cheese making  process. Their involvement reads like a nursery rhyme: "We plant the seed that grows the grass that feeds the cows that produces the milk that makes the cheese and then we take it to market."

Together, they've developed flavours unique to Fox Hill Cheese House. Their inventory includes a variety of cheddar, havarti, Gouda, feta, and fresh curds. They also sell quark, a soft cheese comparable to cream cheese with no salt and less fat. Their first batch of Parmesan should be ready at Christmas. Also in development is a natural yogurt.

"It's exciting to develop the flavours and the recipes we can use them in," says Jeanita, who posts recipes and serving suggestions on the website, which also features local wines that compliment different cheeses. "Our partnership with local wineries is as wonderful as wine and cheese together," says Jeanita. "The flavour of both is so dependent on the soil and air where they are grown. The Annapolis Valley gives us that flavour."

Besides selling specialty cheese, the Rands feel they provide a glimpse of farming life to their clients. "I remember our first customer at the Halifax market. Her name is Elizabeth and she has visited our farm and brought along friends," says Jeanita. "It's not just about quality cheese-it's about offering an experience, and in turn our customers have become our friends. They even ask about our cows."

Jeanita smiles as she reflects on the past three years. "We started something totally new to us-we just plunged in with both feet and with no idea where it would lead us," she says. "So far, it's been an incredible journey."