When we, the Schalkwyk family (myself, my wife Janneke and son Jeroen) wanted to start a farm with more space and more future, we decided to take a look in Canada and we liked Alberta immediately. In 1995 we found a nice place between Sylvan Lake and Red Deer, where we settled and started our dairy farm with a herd of Holstein's. We had a hard time finding a good piece of cheese in Canada, so I decided to go back to an old skill; making good gouda. I have a long history of gouda making, being a cheese maker in The Netherlands for 30 years and learning from my mother who also made Gouda. In 1999 we ordered equipment from Holland and started Sylvan Star Cheese. Now 20 years later Sylvan Star Cheese is renowned for it's farm made Gouda. We have won numerous Canadian awards as #1 Gouda, Extra Aged Gouda and smoked Gouda. Our extra aged gouda, also known as "Grizzly" because of it's bite and power, is ranked #4 in the world. Today our son Jeroen runs the dairy farm with a herd of about 240 Holstein's.