Our History
FROM A LOST LAKE TO A SMALL CREAMERY
Lost Lake Farm grew from a place with a long memory. Our ground sits along the former north shore of Lake Cairo, a broad, shallow lake that was drained in 1895 so the land could be farmed. A century later, its gentle curve is still visible from above and in the way our fields rise and fall. We began selling cheese in September 2016 after years of learning, saving, and help from many hands. From day one the goal was simple: make honest, award-winning cheese from the milk of our own grass-fed cows and care for the soils that carry the lake’s legacy.
THE FOUNDERS
KEVIN & RANAE DIETZEL
Kevin’s path to dairying started young and took him far. He grew up around agriculture, then trained in Biodynamic farming in Germany, completing an apprenticeship across three farmsteads and earning state certification as an agriculturalist. Back in the U.S., he studied biology at UM-Morris and worked in soils research at Cornell, conservation outreach with Iowa Learning Farms, and grazing coordination with Practical Farmers of Iowa. Those experiences shaped a calm, low-intervention approach to milk and pasture. In 2016, after planning and building the cheesery, Kevin stepped into the farm full-time.
Ranae’s roots are close to home—she was raised on a hog farm near Radcliffe, Iowa—and her work has always centered on how soils breathe and grow. She earned an M.S. in Soil Science from Cornell, studying nitrous oxide emissions, and a Ph.D. in Sustainable Agriculture & Crop Production & Physiology from Iowa State University, researching carbon and root dynamics in prairies and row crops. Today she works as a soil scientist for Syngenta and remains closely involved in the farm’s stewardship decisions. Together, Kevin and Ranae bring science, patience, and a deep respect for this landscape to every wheel that leaves the cave.
WHAT STILL GUIDES US
Our story is local, defined by pasture, weather, and time. We keep living roots in the ground, return composted bedding and manure to our fields, and move cows to fresh grass twice a day when grazing allows. The herd is 100% forage-fed, with antibiotics used only when necessary for animal welfare. In the make room, we favor simple methods—gentle heats, careful cultures, steady hands, and aging that lets each cheese find its own voice. The result is food that reflects central Iowa and helps strengthen the rural communities we’re part of. Raised here. Made here. And always shaped by the shoreline of a lake that’s no longer there.
