ORONO – The squeals of the children were the loudest noise at Olde Oak Farm on Sunday, where Scott Belanger and Jennifer Macverde were giving tours of their farm and cheese-making operation.

“There’s the goats,” shouted a young Cub Scout, visiting with Pack 301 of Bangor.

The Nubian goats were quiet, their yellow eyes taking in all the visitors, their curiosity bringing them close to the fences for a pat.

Inside a portable log cabin, Belanger was busy explaining the cheese-making process, taking sweet curds of milk and stretching and kneading it into mozzarella.

Olde Oak Farm was one of many dairy and goat farms in Maine that opened their doors Sunday for Open Creamery Day.

The number of cheese makers in Maine is increasing annually, according to the Maine Cheese Guild, with more than 25 licensed cheese makers in operation. Maine’s reputation as a leader in artisanal cheese is growing, and a summer competition in Vermont proved that Maine can compete with the rest of the country.

At the national competition, Maine Cheese Guild cheese makers won 17 ribbons for excellence, including six blue ribbons for first place. More than 1,208 cheeses were entered from more than 200 producers, and all had to be available to the public for 12 months before the competition.

At Olde Oak Farm, visitors swarmed around a buffet table, spreading cheeses on crackers and murmuring “yum.”

Belanger and Macverde sell 13 varieties of cheese made from both goat’s and cow’s milk at the Orono Farmers’ Market and are gaining a solid reputation for their mozzarella. “We can take $500 worth of mozzarella to the market and run out,” Belanger said.

That’s not to say that his small dairy is making oodles of money. Most Maine producers are small and sell locally, like Olde Oak Farm, and their profit margin is slim.

“The farm pays for itself,” he said, but added that he and Macverde both have jobs off the farm to pay their salaries and capital expenses. He said it took about $60,000 to install all the barns, the milking parlor and the portable cheese processing plant that they are operating on their 3-acre plot on Forest Avenue.

The couple milks Nubian goats. “They give the least amount of milk,” explained Macverde, “but they have the highest butterfat content, vital for making cheese, and they are easy to milk.”

They have 10 milkers and 30 goats in all. Key to the farm’s success is a unique partnership the pair has with Clovercrest Farm in Charleston, which is an organic Jersey cow farm. Belanger said he and John Morrison, the farm owner, have a 50-50 partnership in all cow cheese products.

“He can sell his organic milk for $2.70 a gallon on the bulk truck,” Belanger said. “I can turn that milk into $10 a gallon.”

Belanger said his cheese – offered in flavors such as sundried tomato, pine nut and garlic, southwestern spice, horseradish dill, garlic chive, crustless blueberry cheesecake, cheddar and mozzarella – is gaining such popularity that “we can’t keep up with the demand.”

And that has created a dilemma for Belanger and Macverde.

“I like being this size,” Belanger said. “If I can watch what’s going on, monitor things carefully, I won’t have to medicate my animals.” He said the hands-on control also assures him that all he produces is top quality.

Cheese making for small farms is extremely labor-intensive. “We make every mozzarella ball by hand, making them about 11 at night so they are fresh for market,” he said.

“At this size, a microdairy cannot fully sustain itself. So should we grow? We’re struggling with that,” he said.

One solution could be building partnerships with other farms, such as the one he has with Clovercrest Farm. “We can build on that. By partnering up with other farms, we could have an economy of scale,” he said.

Currently, there is no competition between cheese microdairies, he said, and the relationship between cheese makers is one of sharing and giving. “We’re all different, and it gives people a choice,” Belanger said.

“I enjoy making fresh food. I enjoy making it local. I enjoy making a good product,” he said.

At this year’s 2007 American Cheese Society Competition in Vermont, Maine Cheese Guild members took awards in classes including international, plain organic, molded cheese and cultured milk products. The winners were:

. Appleton Creamery, Appleton, first place, Sheep Yogurt.

. Hahn’s End, Phippsburg, first place, City of Ships cheese; second place, Eleanor Buttercup cheese; second place, Ragged Island cheese.

. Oak Leaf Creamery, Kennebunk, first place, Roja cheese.

. Pinelands Farm, New Gloucester, first place, Onion-Garlic Jack cheese; third place, Salsa Jack.

. Silvery Moon Creamery, Westbrook, first place, Tuscan Herbed Curd; second place, Creme Fraiche.

. York Hill Farm, New Sharon, first place, Chevre Roll; second place, Chevre Roll; second place, Dill and Garlic Chevre Roll.

. Liberty Field Farm, Saco, second place, feta.

. Sunset Acres Farm & Dairy, Brooksville, second place, Boulette (herbed); third place, Cranberry-Honey Fresh Chevre.

. Monroe Cheese Studio, Monroe, third place, Blue Thistle Mold Cheese.

. Painted Pepper Farm, Steuben, third place, Dairy Delights Goat’s Milk Yogurt.