The Story of the Goat Farm
You might ask yourself … How does a middle aged woman with a Masters Degree in Computer Information Systems become a Goat Herder and Cheese Maker? Working in the technology industry can leave a person pretty stressed. I have always found spending time outside with the goats and making cheese from their milk very therapeutic as well as a great business opportunity.
I developed an interest in making cheese many years ago when I had a friendship with a gentleman who was a dairy herdsman. This gave me the opportunity to visit and help in several cow dairies during the years that we were acquainted. I learned the work flow of the dairy industry through these experiences. I also had access to plenty of raw milk to drink and try my hand at making cheese. The cheese turned out delicious and I was hooked on making my own cheese.
I learned that the milk from some of the large dairies has hormones and other things in it that I didn’t want in my cheese. So, this led me to the desire to produce my own milk to control the quality of the cheese. I got a lovely Jersey cow named Molly who gave me 6 gallons of sweet rich milk a day. I made great cheese from her milk. But, I found that tending cows is not my favorite thing to do. They need lots of room to graze ... and leave big sloppy wet stinky piles of poo all over the place. So... cows are not my favorite animal to work with.
However, I knew I wanted to make cheese and started researching all the details of caring for dairy goats. After a few months of research, I bought my first 3 milking does and 2 bottle babies in 2007. They were wonderful. I never imagined how affectionate and intelligent dairy goats are. I enjoyed working with them as my production partners more than I ever thought possible. The goat’s milk is sweet and delicious. The cheese made from their milk is wonderful.
My early dairy goat herd consisted of LaMancha and Nubian goats. I liked the qualities of both breeds. Over the years, I grew the dairy herd to around 150 head and moved my entire farm three times. I was searching for the right place to license the Goat Dairy and the Cheese Plant with the state in order to sell my cheese commercially.
In 2011, the Holmes family invited me to bring my goat dairy and cheese making out to the Rockin H Ranch in Norwood, MO. That summer was spent remodeling the old cow dairy for milking the goats and then moving the farm out to the ranch. Working with the ranch was a great partnership. My goats had access to free range graze over 500 acres of the 1,000 acre ranch. I was very pleased that my goat herd had become a grazing/browsing herd. This gave me good clean healthy milk to make cheese.
In the fall of 2012 the goat dairy was licensed Grade A. Then, in the spring of 2013, when the goats freshened again, the Cheese Plant was also licensed for the production of my Artisan Farmstead Raw Goat Milk Cheeses.
I was very excited that the aged raw milk cheeses were finally ready to come to market along with the ranch’s other products under the with Real Farm Foods label.
Some of the signature cheeses that were available in the local stores included:
Cablanca – Our goat milk Gouda.
Alpine Meadow – An alpine style cheese that reminds you of hard cheddar.
Duggan’s Fire – A spicy cheese with jalapenos and dried cayenne
White River – A n aged semi-soft cheese with a deeper flavor.
In June of 2014 I was able to obtain a small pasteurizer and start creating fresh soft cheeses such as Chevre. Several herb infused varieties of Chevre were available to market in the local stores and farmers markets. A little later that year, I was approved to bottle and sell pasteurized goat milk. It was pretty excited to see it on the store shelves right beside the big name containers of goat milk.
I was milking 84 goats twice a day and making artesian cheeses during 2014. That was a lot of work. It was during this time that I realized that the partnership with the ranch wasn’t working out as well as I had hoped. It was my responsibility to produce the milk and cheese products and their responsibility to market and sell the products. I don’t think I will ever fully know the reasons behind the breakdown in the marketing of my products. But, what could have been a very lucrative partnership was failing.
At the beginning of 2015 I found myself a relationship with a wonderful man that I had known for many years. Carlos and I got married in November of 2015. I downsized my dairy goat herd from 120 to my best 24 does and a buck. We moved the goat dairy to our small farm in Nixa. Shortly after we married, we made the decision for me to retire from the software company that I had spent almost 20 years developing and growing. This let us farm full time together. We also decided that we didn’t want to go big and license the goat dairy with the state for selling our goat milk in the stores anymore. We were happy to sell our raw goat milk right here off of the farm to our wonderful milk customers.
I lost Carlos suddenly in June 2021. Farming without him has not been the same and has been a challenge some days. I made the choice to downsize several parts of the farm in order to keep up with things. But, working with the goats and providing their fresh raw milk to our farm customers has been a constant in my life that brings me peace and so much pleasure. The best part of the day is spent out with the goats.