When I interviewed Vera Bennett in Show Low, Arizona, she recommended that I do an article about her friends, Wendy Woodward and her daughter, Hazel McGuffin at Witch Hazel Dairy in Snowflake. When I went to their website, I found that it had been entirely (and adorably) created by Hazel (click here). I contacted Hazel and she said she is in college now, but I
Beltane Farm in Lebanon, Connecticut
It’s a crazy scene at Beltane Farm this time of year – there are baby goats everywhere (they call it March Madness!) There were 80 born in the last month! Fortunately, you can go there any Sunday afternoon in April or May to see the baby goats, sample their cheeses and tour the farm. Beltane is located at the start of a dirt road in
Red Gable Cheese Workshops
Red Gable Cheese Workshops is located in Sparta, Tennessee-a small community located on the scenic Upper Cumberland plateau approximately an hour and a half from Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga Tennessee. On her 33 acre farm, Karen teaches artisan cheese making utilizing both goat and cow’s milk along with raising a dairy goat herd. I had to interview Karen by e-mail because Tennessee is a little
Dianne Miller in Imnaha, Oregon
Dianne Miller and her husband, Sam raise purebred Nubian dairy goats on their 9 acres of land in the mountains of northeast Oregon. It’s beautiful country, on the border with Idaho. Imnaha is, in fact, the the easternmost settlement in Oregon. According to Wikipedia, the population is 159, but Dianne thinks there are around 250 people in the area. She knows about a third of
Little White Goat Dairy in Orange, Massachusetts
When you listen to Rachel Scherer talk about her goats, you can tell she knows exactly what they like and don’t like, as if she can read their minds. She learned everything she knows from the queen of her herd- Little White Goat. Rachel describes their relationship as a “mystical bond” and it certainly appears to be so. 13 years ago, when Rachel and her
Dandelion Hill Farm in Sheffield, MA
Melissa and Peter Martin have been raising goats and growing their own food for over 26 years, ever since they discovered that one of their 4 children couldn’t digest cow’s milk. A neighbor gave them some of her goat’s milk, their daughter drank it successfully and that was the beginning of a new life for the family. They immediately bought their first goat. Now the
Tatiana Thomas in Russia
It isn’t every day that we hear from a home cheese maker in Russia! And it isn’t every day that we correspond with a fascinating a young woman (34) who has won writing competitions and traveled to 10 countries in Europe, Asia and the Mideast. Tatiana confirms our longtime belief that cheese makers are the most interesting people in the world. Tatiana lives in the
Barbara Crudale in West Kingston, RI
Why do they call it a “hobby farm” when it’s so much hard work? A hobby is an activity you do at your leisure and raising goats is not that! Fortunately, Barbara and her husband have 4 sons to help with their hobby farm while they work full time, raise and milk a small herd of goats, tend a vegetable garden, gather honey from their