Recently, one of our readers, Hope Hammons contacted us to “throw a name in the hat” as a possible candidate for one of our interviews. She wrote, I met the Smits family about 3 years ago when we bought two Nigerian Dwarf bottle-baby doelings from them. They had about 30 – 40 goats at that time which seemed like A LOT of goats to me.
Stony Creek Farm in Montgomery, MA
Gabriella Steria, a Mennonite, was raised on a farm in upstate New York. She moved to Western Massachusetts 20 years ago when she was asked to teach at a Russian Christian school in Westfield. After a few years of working there, she and another teacher at the school (Janice Weaver) decided to buy the property where Gabriella now lives, so they wouldn’t have to pay
Beth-Ann Fortunato in Mena, Arkansas
We got goats because my husband is lactose intolerant and I always wanted them. We moved to Arkansas in 2010 from SW Florida – bought property and created a farm. Neither of us or our families were “farm” people but I’ve always been an animal lover and have wanted the Homestead life. We have an abundance of milk so – cheese!! One goat turned into
Sheila Litchfield in Heath, MA
Sheila Litchfield has been raising goats, making cheese and teaching cheese making for over 30 years. Western Massachusetts is mostly rural, but Heath is about as rural as it gets (population – 706). It’s what we call “the middle of nowhere,” up on a hill and way off the beaten path. Sheila Litchfield and her husband (Budge) moved there 43 years ago because they fell
Ruby Goat Dairy in Jamaica
If you’re lucky enough to go to Jamaica this winter (or any other time), pay a visit to Ruth Mitchell and Byron Walker at Ruby Goat Dairy. They will be happy to show you around their micro dairy – the only one on the the island. It’s not a tourist attraction – it’s a real goat farm and creamery. Ruth and Byron had been coming
Amy Monette in Reno, Nevada
A few weeks ago, Amy sent us her fabulous version of Jim Wallace’s recipe for Lactic Cheese with Truffle Oil. We posted it (click here) with a promise to tell you more about Amy and her cheese making: I live in Reno, Nevada. Reno is at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. I actually live a bit out of town in a rural
Joan Schleh at Garden Home Farm in Mt. Vernon, Washington
Home Farm is a small farm in the Skagit Valley of northwest Washington. Joan Schleh, her husband, Steve,their daughter and their 2 sons breed Saanen and Oberhasli dairy goats and Scottish Highland beef cattle. Joan hopes to be selling her cheese sometime in the near future. Joan’s Story From the first taste of goat milk, which caused us to get some of our own goats,
Ashley Wright in Buckley, Washington
About a month ago, Ashley made a comment at one of our blog articles (about freezing milk). She said she freezes her goat’s milk all the time to make cheese and has never had any problems with it. I contacted her to find out what kind of cheese she was making and I was pleasantly surprised to discover she makes a very wide variety. (It’s