October suits Valley View Farm.

As the pastures shift from summer green to autumn gold and the growing season winds down, the farm on High Street settles into a rhythm that feels distinctly New England.

Goats graze the hillside, cheese ages behind the scenes, and the views stretch across Wenham Swamp toward the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. For Liz and Peter Mulholland, the changing landscape is part of a life they have built around the land.

“Despite the hard work, we feel blessed and grateful every season, if not every day, for the life we have lived over the last 30-plus years,” Liz says.

Valley View’s history reaches back to Topsfield’s earliest settlers. The property has ties to the Towne family, and Liz’s own family history traces back to William and Johanna Towne through their daughter Mary Towne Estey.

That connection adds another layer to the couple’s stewardship of the farm. The name Valley View came later, in the early 20th century, when previous owners transformed the 1830s farmhouse into a summer home.

For Liz and Peter, however, the most meaningful link to the past is found in continuing to work the land.

“We feel that connection every day,” Liz says, “but more importantly because of the gift of the continued tradition of working this beautiful land and working with animals to bring food and joy to others.”

In 1998, the couple started Valley View Farmstead Cheese on Liz’s family farm. Today, Valley View remains Topsfield’s only working dairy and one of relatively few licensed cheese producers in Essex County.

Central to the operation is its herd of Anglo-Nubian goats, whose rich, mild milk becomes an array of farmstead cheeses, from chèvre and feta to aged varieties including Topsfield Tuffet. Each spring brings roughly 90 to 100 kids, all hand bottle-fed, while the milking herd grazes on rotating pasture.

And from the beginning, Valley View has truly been a family endeavor.

Liz’s mother, Mary Brown, grew up on a farm in Danvers and understood exactly what her daughter and son-in-law were taking on. She supported their dream from the start, milking goats and making cheese in the early years, then caring for Andrew and Henry so Liz and Peter could tend to the animals and cheesemaking.

Now nearly 87, Mary keeps the books and has spent the past 10 to 15 years as Valley View’s primary cheese distributor, making deliveries to farm stands, cheese shops and grocery stores across the North Shore. Along the way, she has become a familiar figure.

“Everyone knows her and loves her,” Liz says, noting that Mary often returns from her route with treats from customers, from cider donuts and pizza to baked goods.

Andrew, 27, and Henry, 24, grew up knowing how to pitch in wherever needed. Both can milk goats, make and deliver cheese, feed kids, clean barns, haul hay and give farm tours. The family cuts its own hay on neighborhood fields, helping keep open space in agricultural production.

Their professional interests have also found a place on the farm. Andrew, a biochemist, assists with animal health care and is fascinated by the biology of cheese ripening, helping manage cheeses in the farm’s cheese cave. Henry, who has a business degree, gravitates toward logistics, marketing and new opportunities and handles deliveries farther afield, including Somerville and Boston.

Valley View’s work extends well beyond goats and cheese. The farm raises chickens and keeps two to four beehives below century-old tulip poplars near the perennial and vegetable gardens, producing its own honey.

Each March brings maple season, when the family taps trees and boils sap night after night in the sugar shack. Friends and neighbors join in, helping produce roughly 60 gallons of syrup in a typical year.

Valley View has also served as a pickup site for fresh fish shares and seasonal CSA produce, another way of connecting local families with food produced close to home.

Fall, though, has a character all its own.

“The views over Wenham Swamp of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary are stunning to look at, especially in the fall,” Liz says.

Soon enough, the farm turns toward the holidays. By December, wreaths and greenery join Valley View cheeses, eggs and other locally made foods at the farm store, ready for holiday tables and gifts.

Through every season, Liz and Peter’s mornings begin together over coffee, discussing the day’s goals and looking forward to the work ahead. Finding downtime sometimes requires intention; when they manage it, they enjoy sitting in the yard admiring the views or playing pickleball with friends and neighbors on their converted tennis court.

After more than three decades, Valley View is more than the work of two people. It is a family effort spanning generations, rooted in a landscape they have worked to preserve and a community that has become part of the farm’s story.

“The farm and property and neighborhood and community are very special,” Liz says. “We feel blessed and grateful every season, if not every day, for the life we have lived.”