Fading D Farm consider themselves the result of determination without foresight and an outsized love for cheese. Neither Faythe nor David DiLoreto, of Fading D Farms, had any farming background when they started their Salisbury, NC operation in 2014.
However, after returning home from a trip to Italy, where they had fallen in love with the Mozzarella di Bufala, they could not find anything like it in the US. The solution? Buy some Water Buffalo and learn how to make their own cheese. They purchased five Water Buffalo and began their journey: classes, training, dairy farm life, and learning while you go. A journey that continues to this day.
Gelato, another beloved memory from Italy, was not forgotten. Faythe and David knew that with Water Buffalo milk’s high butterfat content, it would make an excellent Gelato. So, they dove into more course taking, experimentation, and a search for the perfect ingredients. After three years, their Fading D Gelato was born.
Over the years, their herd has grown from five to thirty Water Buffalo, each hand-reared calf is beloved. Even as full-grown cows, they still come for head scratches and to give licks to the people they know, and the heifers, which are each named after a specific cheese, respond when called.
Faythe and David find great satisfaction and feel blessed (most days) to have come this far with a combination of a simple love of cheese and the lack of foresight to know not to try.