The Salies-Salet Farm An immersion in the heart of local agriculture in Arette

Our small family farm in the mid-mountains is located in Arette, Vic de Bas district. Surrounded by meadows and groves, we raise the Basco-béarnaise, a local dairy breed, which makes up our entire herd.

This rustic breed, adapted to the local Béarn climate, produces quality milk that we transform into raw milk farmhouse cheese. A few suckler cows (beef cows), the Blondes d'Aquitaine, accompany our herd.

To respect their well-being, we graze our sheep every day on rich and abundant grass. In winter, we bring them back to the sheepfold in the evening where they enjoy and feed on hay and aftermath produced on the farm.

In the summer, from June to September, the sheep migrate to the Mahourat mountain pasture (La Pierre St Martin) at an altitude of 2,000 metres. In these high limestone mountain areas, there is a specific flora on which our animals like to graze.

This flora constitutes their only food during the four months of summer and this diversity and rarity are reflected in the taste of our summer cheeses.

Up there, we have managed to preserve the know-how of our predecessors despite the hard work that the profession of cheese shepherd represents.

To continue this quality approach, we mature our cheeses ourselves. Thus, they spend their first months in a summer salting room and then are brought back down to the family cellar where they will remain until the age of 6 months. During this long period, they are turned and caressed with salt water every day, which gives them this pretty hazelnut-colored crust.

The duration and success of the ripening process allows us to truly satisfy consumer expectations and achieve the optimum taste qualities and flavors of the cheese.

We welcome you all year round to the farm to let you taste our sheep's cheeses and tell you about our passion.

Production and sale of cheese on the farm as well.