Kidding Around

The End!

2011-12-07T22:47:00.002-05:00

Okay, well if you haven't figured it out by now...I'm done with this blog. I met my goal--I am working on a farm and doing quite well with it. I made the transition from office to barn. (Best move of my life!)

This last post is to say that I have a new blog over on wordpress. It will follow my thoughts on various food and farm related topics. The first posts are all about pig slaughtering and butchering...check it out now!

August Already?!

2010-08-16T18:59:00.005-04:00

Well I've been busy here at Olde Oak Farm and I must say, after reading back through some of last year's posts, that this year is so much different! (And Better!) What a difference a year makes!

So what is going on down on the farm?

To begin with, the rest of kidding season went smoothly--45 kids in 2 weeks! We are keeping 9 girls this year and just one buck for breeding (Big Joe.)

We had another apprentice here this summer also. Jenny. She was here from mid May up until last Monday. She's a student at Rutgers in New Jersey (she would appreciate it if you keep the Jersey jokes to yourself.) Jenny was my right-hand woman in the cheeseplant for the last 3 months. She got a lot of experience with our soft cheeses and made her own batches of Camembert and Havarti (a cheese I had never tried). The Havarti came out very very nice! We did a fresh dill and a plain. We just cut the dill and took it to market after giving Jenny a nice big wedge to take home and share with her family.

This year, I am running the cheeseplant. I'm now the "Head cheesemaker" and senior apprentice. Fancy title! Basically this means that I'm very happy here at Olde Oak and I've taken on more responsibility. I spent more time working with and teaching Jenny than Scott or Jen and it was definitely as much a learning experience for me as it was for her. Managing people is not a skill I've ever had to develop before and I think I equally enjoyed and dreaded some days. :)

Today, we hosted the August meeting of the Maine Cheese Guild. We gave a tour to about 10 members and fellow cheesemakers of the cheeseplant and barn and the new house. Then we sat down and talked business for a while and finally, tasted cheeses that we all brought to share. It was a good meeting and I'm glad it's over! Having all these other cheesemakers here was a bit nerve-wracking! But I think everyone was impressed with the new location and barn, not to mention the house. Coming up in a couple weeks, I'll be making a Tomme during the week of Labor day. Everyone involved will follow Peter Dixon's recipe which can be found on his website. Then, a short 4 months later, all of us cheesemakers will converge for our holiday meeting and try each other's cheeses. I haven't made a Tomme before, so it should be an interesting and fun project!

Beyond that, I've decided to stay on for my third season here next year. And I'm hoping to travel abroad this winter for a couple months to learn more and hone my skills in affinage (the art of aging and ripening cheeses.) I'd like to focus on the care and maintenance of washed rinds, cloth-bound cheddars and maybe learn more about bloomy-rind cheeses as well.

Well that's my world here in Maine. Maybe I'll even get around to updating this again with more on my Tomme.

Till next time...

Kids are here!

2010-03-28T10:56:00.002-04:00

Gem, Prudence and Opal's kids.

We're currently at 8 kids and counting...

Update on the Epoisses: It's been just over a week since I made my first batch of Epoisses (see last post) I've been washing them with a salt water brine, KL-71 (yeast) and b. linens. They are starting to develop an interesting smell. A very thin coating of white mold (Geotrichum) has begun to bloom on them and has raised the pH on the surface from 4.8 up to 5.2. We should see some b. linens development here soon. B.linens or Brevibacterium Linens is the culture that gives the washed rind cheeses their characteristic orange/red surface color and strong smell.

More pictures of kids and cheese coming soon....

Quick Time

2010-03-16T20:15:00.007-04:00

This is quite a short post, just wanted to update and let you all know that no, we haven't had any kids yet...but within the next week we should have our first of the season! I'll definitely have the camera ready. Gem could go anytime this week. (That's Gem and her baby bump in the blue collar on the right in the photo above.) Jen and Scott have had her for 4 or 5 years and she's never kidded here. She is most definitely pregnant this year! And she should be the first to go. Her due dates are Monday (already past) and Friday...here we go!

And today I joined a forum for cheesemakers called cheeseforum.org. I already posted a question about an experimental batch of washed rind cheeses that I'm trying out and I'm learning a lot about this cheese! The cheese I'm trying to duplicate I believe is Epoisses. (Ay-Pwos) I think this is the mystery cheese that I tried in London back in October. I was pretty burnt out from the end of the season here and I wasn't thinking too much about cheese...just tasting some at the Borough Market. A French style of washed rind, it is no bigger than a camembert, covered in a nice orange rind. Should have a strong, ripe smell but should not taste as strong as it smells. Today I made my first attempt and half way through I realized a mistake in my cheesemake and went with one pressed wheel of cheese instead of the multiple small rounds of cheese that are drained under their own weight and not pressed. I let the pH get away from me and the curds would not have knit well unless they were pressed into a wheel. I'll attempt it again on Friday this week and hope that Gem either has her kids Thursday or Saturday. :)

In the meantime, I'm milking the ladies over at Clovercrest Dairy (our partner cow-farm) and Wednesday, we have a possible 2nd apprentice coming for a visit and tour of our farm. I've been taking the goats out for walks in the snow the past week. They hate the snow...but they LOVE to eat all the pine needles off the white pine and fir trees around the fields. Tomorrow should be another beautiful day for a walk with some goat friends of mine.

It's about time for some cheese!

2010-03-01T08:37:00.010-05:00

Since I'm a cheesemaker, I think it's time I post something about cheese. Cheese that I've made. So let's talk Cheddar! I visited a friend in London, England back in October and though I focused mainly on spending time with my dear friend Daneil, I also tasted lots and lots of cheeses. One of my favorite cheeses is Montgomery's Cheddar. It's sharp and the cheddar taste cuts right to your tastebuds. It's crumbly...but not dry. If you see some in a cheese shop, you should ask for a taste and definitely take a little home with you.

The cheddar I make is nothing like Montgomery's, but I'm learning more each time I make it. Normally, we always heat treat (pasteurize) our milk before starting the cheese-make, but a few weeks ago we went raw! I made my first raw milk cheese and it felt oh so good!

Cheddar is a cooked-curd cheese meaning that once the curds have separated from the whey, they are stirred and slowly cooked in the whey. After the right temperature and pH is reached, the whey is drained and the process of "cheddaring" begins.

This is a picture of the curds in the vat before the whey has been drained.

Cheddaring is a process in cheesemaking. After the whey is drained out of the vat, all you are left with is a big pile of curds that are still holding on to some whey. These curds clump and melt together into one mass of curd. If I tried to make a cheese out of this curd without cheddaring, it would probably make a rather bland cheese because the pH is still high (less acidic). What we want to do is give the curds some time in a nice warm environment to let the pH drop (more acidic) and let more whey drain out.

So I separate the pile of curds into 2 piles with a trench down the middle. This allows more whey to drain out while the curds are cheddaring. After 15 minutes, I flip both of the piles of curds which have settled and sort of melted down into 2 slabs of curds. After another 15 minutes I cut each slab in half and stack the halves on top of one another. Every 15 minutes I come back and check on the curds and flip the slabs. If the slabs get too flat, I cut them again and re-stack. Meanwhile, the pH is dropping, whey is draining out of the curds and the curd itself is getting a more elastic look and feel. It's soft and the individual curds are almost impossible to see.

This is a picture of the slabs at the bottom of the vat during the cheddaring process.

When the pH is good and I'm happy with how the slabs look, I pull out my trusty french-fry potato slicer thingy and I mill the slabs of curd through it. I place all the curds in a big bowl and salt them and mix them. After letting them rest for about 15 minutes, I scoop up the curds and place them into the forms where they will be pressed into wheels of cheese overnight.

Ta Da! Cheddarific!

This is our cheese press with 3 wheels of cheese pressing.

Winter Project: Run your Business

2009-12-27T11:16:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing holiday season and eating lots of delicious, local food!
I am home in Ohio for 2 short weeks and I finally have time to sit down for a real update:

As the next step in my apprenticeship, Scott suggested that I take a turn at running the business for the winter. At first, I was terrified at the "make it or break it" opportunity ahead of me...but Scott and Jen both pointed out that is exactly what farming is. You have to be willing to take that chance. And in the past couple months of November and December, after attending a few holiday craft shows and some markets in Skowhegan, at the new 7 Island Marketplace, I've received great feedback and awesome reviews from all the new people I've met. --And I've been able to pay my bills. :)
So how does it work?
I run cow's milk cheeses in the cheeseplant (with our unlimited supply of fresh organic cow milk from Clovercrest) throughout the winter months and find new markets to attend with my cheese. I handle the advertising, the cheesemaking, the market setup, and the costs of supplies and utilities to run the cheeseplant. Normally, Olde Oak Farm pays Clovercrest farm for half of any and all profits from cow's milk cheese. I talked to Steve (owner of Clovercrest, our partner farm) and we decided that I would pay him 40 percent of all cow cheese profits and would keep 60 percent to help offset the costs of gas, and the higher price of these markets.

Now with the holidays coming to a close, I'll be out looking for some new outlets for my cheese...Any suggestions??
I am very lucky to have such awesome mentors (Scott and Jen!) at Olde Oak Farm. They have really pushed me this year to be not just an employee at the farm. I have learned through invaluable experience some of what it takes to run my own farm...and l'm sure this next year will take me even further towards that goal.

Now, I said in my last post that if you live in the state of Maine, you'd be able to get your cheese fix all winter long and that is true. Olde Oak Farm attends the Orono Farmer's Market on the 4th Saturday of each month through April. The market is located downtown in Orono in the parking lot behind Pat's Pizza and the hardware store. You can't miss it! Market hours are shorter in the cold cold winter months. 9am till noon. See you there!

And I'll still be attending the Skowhegan indoor market place every other Saturday. The next market for me will be Saturday, January 9th. From 9am till 5pm at 7 Island in the big, old factory building there. Hope to see you!!

Where to Find Us...

2009-11-21T20:25:00.002-05:00

If you're in the greater Maine state area anytime this winter and in need of a cheese fix, do not fear! We have not gone into hibernation mode. We will be out and selling cheeses at various markets and special events throughout the winter. More specifically, I will be out and selling cheese at many new and changing locations...but more on that new development later. For now, all you need to know is this:

Sunday, November 22
Skowhegan market opening weekend
11am - 5pm.

Saturday and Sunday, November 28 & 29
Augusta Civic Center
Christmas in New England Craft Show
10am - 4pm

Saturday, December 5 (We're in 2 places at once!)
Page Farm and Home museum - Holiday Shoppe
at the U Maine Campus in Orono
10am - 4pm
http://www.umaine.edu/pagefarm/

AND

The Skowhegan market

10am - 5pm

See you there!

More to come soon on the winter project I'm taking on as the next step in my apprenticeship.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In the News!

2009-10-19T19:06:00.004-04:00

Hey Olde Oak Farm made the Bangor Daily News last week! (sorry I'm a little behind as usual)

MAXFIELD, Maine — The dairy goats at Olde Oak Farm seemed right at home Sunday, munching on pasture grass and hobnobbing with the curious visitors who came to stroke their floppy ears, giggle at their capricious ways and sample the many tasty cheeses made from their milk.

Check out the full article here: http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/124856.html

AND! There's a short picture/audio story up on youtube about me. We had a woman from University of Maine do a story for a class about the farm. Check that one out here:

Burn Out / Winding Down? (2 for the price of 1)

2009-09-27T12:01:00.007-04:00

After all the rain we had earlier this summer, August and September have been nothing but gorgeous sun-filled days here in Maine. As you've noticed, if you keep up with my blog, I have not been posting for a while. Today it is raining. Today I was hoping to catch the last day of MOFGA's Common Ground Country Fair...it's an event I've heard about since before I even moved to Maine. Fortunately for you it is raining and I just don't have the energy, the cash or the gumption to drive a total of 4 hours and then sit in the cold rain to learn about bee keeping, cover crops, or weaving with mohair. I don't mean to whine, but I'm tired!

My head swims when I try to sit and think clearly on what exactly I've learned so far this year at the farm.(It swims even more when I think of the things I have yet to learn.) I will definitely need the winter months to process some of this. Then maybe I can form a better answer than the sarcastic one I've been giving lately: Yeah, I've learned a ton this summer...most importantly: Do Not move your farm.

Somehow, the entire month of August went by in a flash and at the end of it, we had moved 40 goats, several buildings, the buck barn, the cheeseplant, everything from the old house and we completed a new giant greenhouse barn to house the goats and the new milk parlor. Then my parents visited for a week, then Scott's parents visited for 2 weeks. And throughout all this, we still kicked ass at market, delivering our delicious cheese to our customers as if it was second nature. Our asses were dragging, but our eyes were bright and we continued to laugh.

At first, I thought this would be a post as an update to what I've been doing for the past 2 months, but I think I'd rather stay current and talk some about burn out. Scott and Jen and various other farmers have shared with me that everyone--Everyone who works on a farm goes through burn out. There's nothing to do to avoid it. When I hit a small patch of burn out earlier in the summer, everyone told me the best way to get over it was to work through it. Not the answer you want to hear at the time...but they were right. I worked through it on auto-pilot and within a few days I was back with a clear head and ready to make some more cheese!

Then there is another type of burn out which I unfortunately hit the week before my parents got here. My mood changed pretty dramatically and I had a terrible temper. I was loosing it on the goats and being a jerk to the people around me. Nothing made me happy and I did not want to be in that cheeseplant or in the barn or even in the house. Of course there is no such thing as an opportune time when working on a farm. Scott told me to take a couple days off and I did. He and Jen worked to cover the gap that I left and we all survived. My parents visit was more stressful than I ever imagined it would be and now, a month later, I feel like I'm finally getting back on top of things with my work. I think the burn-out is behind me for this season and I'm already looking forward to next season.

* * * * * *

Can you believe I honestly thought things would slow down in the fall? We have just as much cheese to make each week plus extra for special events and the holiday season, even though our supply of goat milk is dwindling each day with the sunlight. As difficult and long as the days can be here, I know that I made the choice to be here and I continue to choose this life each day. I went into this apprenticeship looking for the answers to these questions: What is goat farming like? Would I like goat farming? Now I know the answers to those questions, and new questions have formed to take their place: Is this the right lifestyle for me? Do I want to devote my life's work to this?

There are countless things I still need to do and things I need to learn and things I need to improve on. Things that need fixed, things I need to think about and put into practice. Things that will just have to wait till next year, things to do this winter and things that needed done 2 weeks ago. I guess I didn't really understand Jen earlier in the summer when she described this lifestyle as an all out sprint for 8 months and then off for 4. She said she is good as a distance runner, someone who can work a long ways at an even pace. But that she's still not sure if she wants to do the 8 month sprint. At times, it doesn't seem like a healthy way to sustain life, but I haven't made it to the off-season yet. I am very much anticipating a break, a time to reconnect with my friends and time to begin planning for my own farm.

Taking a Bee Break

2009-07-12T07:56:00.010-04:00

Every now and then I get a little free time and I try to update the blog. I also try to do other things non-goat or cheese related. Scott knew I was interested in learning bee-keeping and he used to work for a commercial place that had 1,000 hives. So he decided to get me a little side project to learn. A few weeks ago we drove down near Skowhegan and picked up 3 boxes of bees! We brought them up to the new farm in Maxfield where they have fields of flowers and trees to enjoy. We finally got them all transfered into their new hives yesterday.

All three hives are pretty active and the bees seem happy in their new hives and have lots more room to spread out and store up honey. So far I haven't had the courage to do much when we were working with the bees. I stand by and use the smoker and mostly watch Scott. I'm getting more comfortable being around them, but I haven't been stung yet. I'm too careful and cautious right now. But it's really fun and very interesting to see the bees at work. They are really sweet honeybees. And the more I watch them up close, I think they are very cute little creatures.

We've had something like 32 days of rain out of the last 40 days here in the Orono/Bangor area...and I think it's like this over most of Maine but I haven't had the chance to keep up much with local (or any) news. I know that it's mostly all that people talk about at farm markets. I've also been assured by several people that this is not typical Maine weather. How are the bees handling all this rain? Well we fed them with a gallon jar full of thick, syrupy sugar water because if they don't have the chance to fly, they still need to eat and they still need something to help them make up for all the lost honey in their hives.

The bees didn't go through the jar as fast as we thought they would. It took them about a week to finish off the gallon of sugar water. We mixed up another jar yesterday and left it for them to enjoy. It looks like we won't have the chance to get any honey from our bees this year. They will need to store it all up for themselves to make it through the long winter here in Maine. So next year we are hoping to make some Honey Mead. And hopefully by then, I'll be much more comfortable and knowledgeable with the bees.

To market to market to buy some fresh cheese!

2009-07-06T13:59:00.004-04:00

Happy belated 4th of July!

This week I thought I'd talk marketing now that market season is in full swing! As I mentioned in my last post, we sell all of our cheese at farmer's markets. It's so rewarding and a lot of fun to sell cheese face to face to our loyal cheese customers and to goat-cheese virgins alike. In the short 4 months that I've been here at Olde Oak Farm, Scott has taught me a lot about marketing. Before I moved here I knew that marketing myself and salesmanship were two of my weakest points. But now I really look forward to markets. Not only does it allow me a little social time away from the farm, but every market also gives me a chance to practice and improve my selling skills. (Right now I'm working on the closing of the deal.)

I think before I began working here I took a very laissez-faire point of view towards marketing and selling cheese. I figured it would sell itself. Who wouldn't buy fresh, local, delicious cheese?? I've learned that LOTS of people won't. There are many reasons. One of the biggest reasons Scott has talked about this week is trust. When you go to a veggie vendor, you usually aren't worried about getting sick from the tomatoes or broccoli. Dairy farming is a little different in that way. Not only does the cheese need to taste good, but it needs to be from high quality milk and you need to convince the customer that they can trust you and your product. At the same time, you're giving them a tour of the cheeses on the table, encouraging them to try it, making small talk, doing a little mental math and paying attention to other customers walking by the table and trying to get their attention.

Farmers markets are a 4 or 5 hour window for us to sell as much cheese and make as much money as possible so that we can continue to break even and afford to feed the goats and run the cheese plant...and even pay the apprentice. :) All the work we do every day, all day adds up to farmers markets. With that said, I'll give you a little inside view into the producer side of things at market that the consumers may or may not be aware of.

The Olde Oak farm market rules:

1. No sitting or leaning during market

2. Say hello to everyone that walks by the stand, whether they are customers or not.

3. Never say NO. If someone asks if we have something that we do not have. Instead of saying no, we say we'll have it next week or we try to redirect them to something similar.

Each farm has its own persona and each person at that farm has their own character that they play while at market. These "characters" are really just an exaggerated extension of their true personalities. I'm the excited, new apprentice at the farm. I'm learning how to make all these delicious cheeses and I know you want to taste them all! The persona of Olde Oak Farm looks like a group of happy hippies making cheese and loving their goats. We name all the goat cheeses after the goats. And we make the flavors to match their personalities. "This is Opal. She's the sweetest goat in the herd. Never kicks me when I'm milking her. We made her cheese sweet. It's orange-ginger marmalade with sliced almonds on top." And so on.

It's cool when you start watching other vendors at market. Where we have the no sitting, say hello to everyone rule, other vendors are much more laid back. The maple syrup guy just sits back on the tailgate of his truck and doesn't say anything to anyone who walks by until they come over and ask a question about maple syrup...then you can't get him to stop talking until suddenly you are taking home a jug of syrup and a little more appreciation for sugaring.

Scott says that everyone is a customer when they walk by our stand...they just might not know it yet. Scott has a very big persona at market. He talks louder and laughs and knows everyone. Super friendly, "Best day of my life, how about you?" And he is great at gaining people's trust. Jen is a little more soft spoken. She pays close attention to people's kids and dogs. She's great at keeping an eye on the table and moving things around strategically to sell more.

So next time you are out at a market(which should be this weekend!)consider a few things:

*What is the persona of your favorite farmer/vendor?

*Why are you drawn in to some vendors/farmers more than others?

Life Goes On

2009-06-21T14:59:00.008-04:00

All of the cheese we make here at Olde Oak Farm gets sold at farmers markets in the area. Being a rather new (only 3 years old) business, we only sell at a few markets right now. We sell at Orono Market on Saturdays. This year we expanded to selling at the Brewer market also on Saturdays. These markets start up the first week of May. Two weeks ago we added on Bangor market which is an evening market on Thursdays in downtown Bangor. In two days we'll add on the Tuesday afternoon market in Orono. Four markets a week equals a lot of cheese and a lot of work making, preparing and packaging all that yummy cheese! So if I've been out of touch lately...this is more than likely the reason and it's about to get worse. I'll try to keep y'all updated as much as possible though. I know you can't live without the next installment of Life on the Goat Farm!

Unfortunately this week was also Nate's last week at the farm. Nate decided to take a turn on a new path and I hope he finds what he is looking for on his journey. Farming is a difficult lifestyle. Long exhausting days with little pay. People can burn out easily and it's not uncommon for people to leave. More notice and communication would have been appreciated, but we will not let the farm suffer. We just have to step it up for the goats and the cheese and for the community that believes in and supports us. With a clear understanding of just how much work I now have ahead of me as the only apprentice at the farm, I am excited to get to work and get us geared up for all these markets! But first I'm enjoying a nice, restful day off today.

So what else is new here? Bees! We picked up three boxes of bees last Saturday!! Scott wanted to get me a side project--something else I'm interested in learning. He has past work experience as a bee keeper so we got honey bees! They are up at the new house and Scott has been keeping an eye on them. It's been raining almost everyday this week but some sunny day I'll try to get some photos of them. We are going to get them into the hives and find the queen in each one. If the hives do really well this summer we may get some honey in August. But we have to make sure they have enough to get them through the winter. So far I have not been stung. *cross your fingers* :)

I thought I'd post some chicken photos.

The chickens are sort of neglected here at the farm. They need a little spotlight. I really didn't like the chickens much at first. They don't seem like very intelligent birds. But they are very useful around the farm. They eat lots of bugs and pests out of the gardens. They make little dirt baths for themselves to keep the mites away. While I was finishing up milking earlier this week I looked over and there was a chicken sitting on Gem's back.

I wish I had been able to grab a camera! It was so funny! Gem was so pleased with her chicken. The chicken was picking bugs out of her fur and at the same time walking around her back with it's talons and goats love a good scratching. What was more surprising was when Pretty (another goat) came up beside Gem and nuzzled the chicken with her face. The chicken hopped over on Pretty's back. A few minutes later Gem walked around the other side of Pretty and carefully stuck her face right into the chicken's feathers and coaxed the chicken back on to her back. Too cute! Goats sharing a chicken. The goats were so pleased with themselves. Gem's eyes were closed and she had the biggest smile on her face as the chicken walked around on her back.

Well that's all from the farm this week folks!

On a cold day in June...

2009-06-10T16:30:00.002-04:00

How much do I like cheese?

2009-05-25T06:53:00.004-04:00

Happy Memorial Day! The lilacs are blooming, the birds are singing and the black flies are biting! OUCH!

Instead of giving you a run down of everything that's happened this week--because I imagine that does get a little repetitive after a while--I wanted to write a little on something that struck me last week.

I was home alone here and heat treating milk to make cheese in the cheese plant. As I learned the week before, the temperatures must be exact or the cheese could fail. So I've got my hair net on and I'm heating 20 gallons of milk to exactly 145 degrees and then I have to keep it there for a half hour before I cool down to exactly 82 degrees. I'm focused and trying to nail my temperatures. Outside the weather is overcast and getting pretty windy. I hear goats yelling. When I look out the window, our 4 yearling does have busted out of their pen and are currently stripping down the little pine trees in front of the cheese plant. Bad goats! My milk is only at 100 degrees, so I run outside and turn off the electric fence and get them back in and turn on the electric again. I fix the fence and everything looks fine. I run back to the cheese plant.

Whew! Only 115 degrees. 5 minutes later, they are out again! What the hell? I run outside and wow the wind is really blowing! The greenhouse barn looks like it could take off. I grab some more wooden pallets and attempt to hold down the plastic with their weight. I think the girls are somehow sneaking out through the loose sides of the greenhouse barn. I try to barricade them in with pallets and a random board that Jen was using earlier. I'm on my knees trying to figure out how to keep the girls in and I know it's a loosing battle. Oh crap! The milk. I run back to the cheese plant. 135 degrees. Well the girls can stay out I have to get the temperatures right. So I get the milk into its half hour of heat treating. It's stable at 145 degrees. I rush back outside. Now some of the babies are getting out. Crap! The girls are still out too. I'm grabbing pallets and jamming them into the crawl space that I think they're using to get out. The plastic down the sides of the greenhouse barn has come unrolled and is loose and flapping around a lot in the wind. Okay they are back in their pen. But 5 minutes later...of course they are out again. How aggravating! I can't believe I'm doing this all for cheese!

Well wait a minute...am I doing this all just for some cheese? Sort of, yes. I'm doing all of this--working harder than I ever have in my life--so that at the end of each week I can come to market with a good, delicious, healthy, high quality product that I'm proud to say I helped make. It's all so we can bring good food to our community. It's such a simple goal.

I talked to Scott about it a day or 2 later and he laughed because he knows. I think I'm just starting to understand it...or not understand it. Because it may be a simple goal, but the amount of physical work, stress and attention to detail that it takes to meet that goal can be quite overwhelming. Am I nuts? Is it all worth it? Do I really love cheese that much? And that is when Scott reminds me that it's a life style--not just a job. Over the past few months I've had to break out of the 9 to 5 mentality. Switch it around. It's much more like 5 to 9. The work never ends.

And to answer my questions-- Yes! I am nuts, it is worth it and I do like cheese a lot. It's very satisfying work. I feel like I have a purpose and I'm actually part of something bigger--something important that matters to me and the folks I live with and the community that supports the farm markets. Especially the community that doesn't come out to the farm markets...hopefully they stop by sometime and fall in love with our cheese or the fresh veggies or eggs or meats. I don't really know how else to explain it to people...how to get them to think about the food that they eat and to consider even more the people who worked so hard to bring it to them. Before I moved here I thought I was a very concious consumer. I attended farm markets pretty religiously and would stretch my budget for better quality food. And even knowing I was coming out here to live and work on a farm and make cheese. I still didn't understand how difficult it is. I didn't think about how much work really went into those heirloom tomatoes or the cheese or the butternut squashes. I was very happy to shake the hand that feeds me (thank you colleen for the phrase) but I hadn't put myself entirely in their shoes. Scott and Jen are right--I had the fantasy. Now, I've got some reality to back it up. And there still are moments of fantasy. Especially when I consider what my future might bring. I can still dream up my farming ideas and have a better handle on what is more realistic -- what can I make happen?

Blogger's Block?!

2009-05-13T14:05:00.004-04:00

Can you believe it's almost half way through May??!! So sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks. So much has happened I've been dreading trying to get it all organized and written down here. I have writer's (blogger's?) block!

Okay so here we go:

1. I got a huge splinter jammed up under a nail on my right hand 2 weeks ago. I couldn't milk for a week. My nail is coming off and it's still stiff and difficult to bend at the top knuckle closest to my nail! OUCH!

2. We lost a 20 gallon batch of chevre (soft goat's milk cheese) early last week. Instead of being nice and creamy and spreadable, it turned out more like mozzarella. Slimy and clumpy. It took us quite a while to figure out why. Just to be sure it wasn't the milk itself, we checked every goat for Mastitis using the California Mastitis Test or CMT. I'm happy to say that all of our ladies with exception of 2 tested negative and those 2 are very slightly on the line, what may be called a "weak positive." We took them out of the milk tank and are treating them with Vitamin C and good helpings of garlic during feeding. Vitamin C helps boost the immune system...I think garlic does too, but I'll have to check on that. The reason for the failed cheese we realized is that Katy (our awesome helper who comes to help out with chores and milking during the week) had 2 of the first time milkers confused. We accidently had colostrum mixed into the milk tank and it doesn't make very good cheese. Ooops! No worries though, we were just glad to figure out what went wrong. We are not taking that cheese to market. I learned a lot about paying attention to the milk quality during and after milking, and the importance of testing often for mastitis.

3. Last week Scott gave me my first lesson in cheese making in the cheese plant. We made a 10 gallon batch of Boursin (soft cow's milk cheese.) It came out beautiful! Today I set chevre (soft goat's milk cheese) by myself for the first time. I followed all the directions from Scott and Nate and tonight around 8 or so it should be ready to hang! *Keep your fingers crossed that it turns out as good as the Boursin!* Scott said we can't afford to fail on this batch. Eeek!

4. We still have baby goats! I took them out for a walk on our lunch hour today. It's nice and warm and sunny here! We have two more ladies who have not kidded yet. Prime should be going this weekend and Gem.... well Gem is anyone's guess. Scott doesn't think she's pregnant at all. Jen says she is. I'm not taking a side in this one. :)

5. The new house is coming right along! Scott and his dad are working all week to lay the floor boards! Nate tiled the kitchen yesterday with beautiful slate tiles!! The water heater should also be installed this week. Then it's only a matter of deciding when we want to move the goats and the cheeseplant and ourselves up there.

Well those are the highlights. Things here are just getting busier and crazier. Nate left this morning for his trip out to Colorado for school. He will be gone for a month! So now that I know some more about the goats and what goes on in the barn and how to carefully and safely handle milk, I'll be stepping into the cheese plant more. Scott will be teaching me the techniques and science that go into cheese making and hopefully I'll be keeping you informed of what I'm learning and how the hell I'm going to turn all this into my own farm someday. Believe me, it's on my mind constantly. I don't have any plans yet, but I'm gaining lots of ideas. Scott helps when he starts most comments to me with: "When you have your farm, you'll see..." Or "Next year, when you start your farm, this is what you'll need to do..." Etc. I appreciate it. Those comments remind me each time of how I got here and why I'm here to begin with. I am having such a great time! I'm learning so much! Seeing so much! Doing so much! I almost feel like a farmer somedays. It's coming.

Getting Busy!

2009-04-27T21:02:00.002-04:00

Wow! It's practically Tuesday and I haven't updated last week yet! Well first things first I guess. I'm sorry to say that Black and Tan did not make it through the week. Simon, our vet came on Monday last week and we decided to put her down. He said she more than likely was not going to recover. That same day we had 2 mommas give birth and gained 5 new baby goats. It was a hell of a roller coaster day.

I pretty much stayed out of the cheese plant last week. I was kept busy with all the new babies and chores. Also I had Wednesday and Thursday off!! (first days off in over a month!) Nate made a ton of cheese and the fridge was packed full by Friday. We had our last winter market Saturday in Orono as well as the Hope Fest at the University of Maine. We sold so much cheese! And the cheese was great! We were all so proud of our cheese and of the goats and the farm. It was awesome to see our customers' response and to meet new customers and tell them all about the cheese. It was also exhausting! Talking to so many people and staying so excited can easily ware you out.

This Saturday starts up the full time market season. We'll be in Orono and Brewer on Saturdays--every Saturday from now till they tell us to stop coming. We also have Orono market on Tuesdays I think. Then at some point a Bangor market starts up on Thursdays and if we feel like it, we can go to Brewer also on Friday. What a schedule! That's a lot of cheese and a lot of milk and a lot of energy.

Tomorrow (if I have time) I'd like to record a video blog update so keep checking back for that. In the mean time--watch out for the swine flu! But don't worry, eating pork from your local farmer is safe. I worry that the title of this flu bug is bad for our fellow farmers. Let's all eat pork this week! Mmmmm.

A Lesson in Disbudding

2009-04-18T09:39:00.009-04:00

Well another week has flown by here at Olde Oak Farm. We only had one momma (Sunny) kid and that was on Monday. We're already gearing up for our next wave of births which could start today or tomorrow if Clarece goes on schedule. We sold some of the kids this week and we're back down to 7.

This week I spent a lot of time with the kids. I've been feeding them 3 times a day and they are ravenous little eaters! Mostly. Jen noticed midweek Black and Tan (one of the kids) had lost some significant weight. She's been constipated and dehydrated. We aren't sure what the reason is, but we've been spending a lot of time with her and trying to get her re-hydrated and back up to good health. Also, when the goats are looking a little slow and not as vibrant as we would like, we will give them an injection of Vitamin B which gives them more energy and helps them perk up. We've given Black and Tan a few Vitamin B shots throughout the week and last night she drank almost a full bottle.

Go Black and Tan!

Wednesday evening was rough. Something I've sort of been dreading in the back of my mind ever since I learned about it. Wednesday evening we disbudded 8 of the kids. Don't worry, they are all doing fine now. ( It was probably more traumatizing for me in the long run. )

If you are one of the folks who asked me if we cut the horns off the goats...Pay attention! Cutting horns is dangerous because they bleed a lot. Disbudding is much more humane.

* So What is disbudding and why do we do it??

Disbudding cauterizes the growth plate of the budding horns on the head of a kid goat, which causes the horns to never grow. Scott used an electric disbudding iron--sort of like a curling iron in that you plug it in and wait for it to get nice and hot. Then he held it to the buds for 8 to 10 seconds each. All the goats here are disbudded and it's a very common practice in most dairy goat farms. We do it for the safety and health of the goats. Goats are aggressive with each other. They rear up and butt heads. I've seen one specific goat in our herd plow another right in the side several times. With horns, it would be quite easy to tear an u

dder or hurt an eye. By removing the horns, we're giving them a safer environment and reducing the risk of injury to our herd and the milk supply.

I will let Scott continue to do the disbudding until I feel comfortable trying it myself. We still have quite a few that will need it. In fact we're doing another round tonight.

And one more note before I have to get back to work: We have started using the milk machine and we'll be making chevre (goat cheese) on Monday! Up to this point, we have been milking by hand and using it just for feeding the baby goats. Between the 7 ladies that we're currently milking, we have about 4 gallons of milk a day. By Monday morning we should have enough for a good sized batch of cheese! We're making the cheese in preparation for a market and a festival next Saturday. Two

weeks ago Nate made 75 little rounds of camembert that have been aging and growing the fluffy white mold that makes them so delicious. By the end of the week, the cheese plant will be bursting with cheese to sell!!

12 and Counting

2009-04-11T15:00:00.006-04:00

I took some time out for pictures during a nice, quiet afternoon this week...

This is Pleasure--Momma number one this year.

Well we're about one third of the way through the kidding season now. 6 goats have had their babies and we have 13 or 14 more to go! The count right now is 12 babies, 8 girls and 4 boys. What a week! Chips (an all white goat) kidded on Tuesday and had a single black and tan girl. Prudence kidded on Thursday with two brown boys. Thursday night I got up to check on Amelia a couple times overnight. She finally kidded after quite a lot of pacing, laying down, standing up, more pacing... She also struggled quite a bit; it was a tense atmosphere in the barn. Her second baby came out backwards which can be problematic because they can get stuck. Thankfully everything went alright and both kids are happy and healthy.

After the morning excitement, we checked in on all the ladies and decided it looked like we wouldn't have any more births before Saturday and probably not until Sunday. So we all got busy and ran errands and went back to work on other projects... Until...

Nate and I ran errands and got home for chores right at 5. When Nate took hay down to the ladies barn, he spotted Mystic with a kid half way out! By the time he got my attention and had her separated out from the rest of the herd, she was pretty tense. Scott and Jen were about an hour away and didn't pick up when we called the cell phone. So we tried to calm ourselves down and focus on Mystic. She followed Amelia's example of laying down and getting up and pacing. Finally, she settled down enough to focus and push.

After the morning's lesson on kids coming out backwards, I noticed the feet that were coming out were the back hooves. I panicked a bit, but continued to help Mystic by rubbing her and talking to her while she pushed and I pulled. After the hips came, it was mostly a matter of helping to pull out the rest of the gooey, slippery mess that is a baby goat. The second kid came very soon after. Thankfully, she came out correct with two front hooves and the head first. Finally, I was hoping we were done...but no. A third baby came. Backwards again! And this one was much bigger than the first. By this time Mystic didn't have much trouble pushing. I prayed there wasn't a fourth and hooray! No fourth goat came! We were all done and Mystic was actually interested in her babies this year. (I've heard that in the past she hasn't wanted much to do with them.) All three are girls. The first one was smaller and will probably live, but she's had a rough start so far. We're giving her extra attention right now.

What an adrenaline rush! I don't think I calmed down till after 10 last night, when we finally sat down to some pizza around a camp fire. Ahhhh. I was in bed, nice and exhausted by midnight.

All to wake up again at 6:30 this morning. Chores took about 2 and a half hours to milk and get everyone fed. Shortly afterwards Sunny decided she'd like to have a baby too! Hers was a relatively simple and straight-forward birth, except she decided she wanted to do it standing up. Whew! One good sized girl and she looks just like her momma!

That's it for this week. If I have some time in a day or two I will post more photos of babies!

Finally! Kids are here!

2009-04-05T08:56:00.005-04:00

Wow! We finally had our first batch of kids last night. Pleasure kidded around 4:30 in the afternoon. She had 2 girls and a boy. They came out quick! I couldn't believe it. I was feeding the girls and I turned around and Jen already had one out.

When they come out they are very messy and gooey. We let the moms lick them off a little then we wrap them in a towel and rub them pretty vigorously to get them warm and dry and to stimulate them as much as possible. You want to hear them cry. Then we let the momma lick them some more to help inoculate their immune systems and their rumen. We heat treat the colostrum (first milk from the mommas) and feed it to the babies in bottles. We do this to make absolutely sure the milk is safe for the babies. Also, some of the goats aren't the best mothers and wouldn't care to feed the babies. By hand feeding the babies they develop an attachment to us which will make it much easier to work with them throughout their lives.

So the season has finally officially begun! We were up early this morning to milk and feed the babies. We're keeping an eye on Chips today. Next up is Mystic on Thursday and we have 5 scheduled to kid on Friday! So by next Saturday, this place will be mayhem! Stay tuned...

Cat and Rabbit: BFF

2009-03-29T16:48:00.003-04:00

Bun update! The bunny and Toulouse became friends this week! They're hanging out right now while I write this. Really the cat is more confused and concerned with the rabbit's presence. The bun could care less.

It has been a pretty relaxing week here at the farm...definitely the calm before the storm. Friday morning Scott, Nate, Katie and I worked in the cheese plant packing cheese and making mozzarella for the market on Saturday. Jen and I went to market Saturday morning and had a great time! The sun was warm and lots of people bought cheese. I met a lot of customers.

Right now, we're still in winter market mode. We only go once a month on the last Saturday of the month. So our next market will be the last Saturday in April. Full time market swings into action on the following Saturday, May 2nd. By then most of the goats will be producing milk and the cheese plant should be in full operation.

I also spent more time getting to know the ladies this week. Elsa will freshen (kid) first this week on Thursday. Chips follows her on Saturday and Pleasure is scheduled for Sunday. I'm not sure if they will actually stick to the schedule or not, but I'm ready for some kids! We went over the lists of names this afternoon. Jen has a list of themes for each goat. Each generation gets its own theme. Elsa's kids will all be flowers. Their kids will be trees and so on.

Time Flies

2009-03-23T09:55:00.006-04:00

My goal is to update this blog on a weekly basis...but you'll have to hold me to it because the weeks go by so fast here! Most of this week I spent working up at the new house in Maxfield. Almost all the doors are hung (there are 19!) The cabinets in the kitchen are all installed. Jen and I have been working on oiling the doors. We're using Danish oil to seal and protect all the woodwork in the house and there's so much of it! But it looks amazing when it's done. Beautiful!

The well was also finished this week, so hopefully we'll have running water up there soon also! Nate got the floor in the apprentice bathroom and mud room tiled on Friday and grouted on Saturday. When Scott gets back from his latest job I think he's going to start working on the floor boards downstairs. We're looking at moving us and the goats around the beginning of May, but who knows what could happen between now and then. Goats start kidding April 1. We have 5 goats scheduled to kid on Friday April 10! That's a lot of kids! We were hoping to be moved before they kid, but that's definitely not happening.

Speaking of goats! Jen and I gave all the ladies shots last night of CD/T - Its a vaccine for Tetanus. We gave them the shots while they were eating and they didn't even flinch. I learned to give them a shot in the skin behind their front leg...kinda like the goat's armpit. We also gave them a de-wormer. I had to straddle the goat at the shoulders and pull their heads against my belly and get a little tube in their mouth and squirt just a bit of it into their mouth. Some were easy and liked the taste...others were not so excited. Goats are strong! I'm also trying hard to learn all their names. Hopefully I can learn their names before they kid and then there will be more names to learn. I'll try to get some photos of the ladies up here later today.

This weekend we have a market on Saturday. Nate and I will make mozzarella on Friday. And I'm sure I'll be up at Maxfield oiling more doors this week also. Okay, time for a much needed shower. Stay tuned!

Down on the Farm

2009-03-11T14:07:00.004-04:00

Wednesday:

Waiting for the rennet to do its thing, I'm in the cheese plant at Olde Oak Farm with Nate and we're working on a washed rind cheese. Yesterday we processed 25 gallons of fresh jersey cow milk from Clovercrest Dairy, and made it into 3 beautiful wheels of cheddar. They will age for a couple months until we need them for markets.

So here I am in the middle of Maine! I finally made it up here and so far it's been a long, full week. I'm getting settled and acustomed to life at the farm. In a few short weeks the ladies will start to freshen (kid) and we'll be going out of our minds with baby goats, milking, cheese and general mayhem!

Sunday:

I started this post earlier in the week and didn't have time to finish. Now it's Sunday morning and team cheese is about to head out to the ladies barn to shovel out the poop. The pack of goat poop, hay and wood chips has been building up over the winter and we need to get it cleaned out before the goats start to kid.

Yesterday I hung out with Jen all day. We went to the Orono farmer's market meeting to vote on which new vendors to allow into the market this year. It was very interesting to hear each farm introduce themselves and to hear the rest of the farms debate whether or not they had room for another baker or veggie farmer at the market. I think maybe the most valuable thing I learned is to know the market that you're applying to. There has to be a good balance of vendors and products available for the customer base.

More to come ... later when you can smell me through the computer. Mmmmm!

Bun update: Willow (buns) is doing okay. She's had a rough time, but is getting used to being in a house with 2 cats and a dog and a bunch of people that smell like goats. :) She's been nose to nose (through the cage) with the other critters in the house and she's been pretty cool about it. So no worries, buns is alive and kickin!

Two Announcements!

2009-02-12T09:42:00.002-05:00

1) Tasting Workshop: American Artisanal Cheeses: Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7:00

Get the idea of Kraft singles out of your head! America has a lot to offer when it comes to artisanal cheeses. And we'll taste our way through some of the best. Join us at Katzinger’s Delicatessen for an education into American cheesemaking. The workshop will be co-taught by Arlene, a Slow Food Columbus member and soon to be cheese apprentice, and Wendy, a self-described cheesemonger and manager of Katzinger’s retail and specialty foods. They will lead us through Cheddar, Blue, Washed Rind, Natural Rind and Bloomy Rind cheeses. We'll learn how ordinary milk—combined with just the right amount of science and magic—is transformed into the cheeses that have been loved and savored throughout history. To complement the cheeses, Arlene and Wendy chose a couple of beers from Columbus’ own Elevator brew pub. They will also have answers to many of our most difficult cheesy questions: Is the rind edible? How do I arrange a good cheese plate? Which cheeses should I use for cooking/baking? What is so “slow food” about cheese anyway?

Visit the Slow Food Columbus website for more info and to register for the tasting!
Hope to see you there!

2) I'm hosting a party at my home before I leave and you're invited!

Whether we're old friends or new acquaintances, or even if you've never met me before--I want to see every one of you before I leave to go to the farm. Because once I do...it will be me and the goats for an awfully long, lonely time.

I'm leaving March first to be an apprentice on a goat farm and make cheese in the great big state of Maine. And I hope you'll join me at my house Friday Feb. 27 for a huge party!

Paper City Cabaret will perform LIVE in my living room! We'll have a bon fire out back and games in the basement. I'll be serving up El Chupacabra shots and my very own creation, The Blue Nubian! All Night Long!

Oh...one last tiny little thing to mention. The apprenticeship doesn't pay too well and I've been trying hard to save, but unfortunately, I'm falling short on cash. If you really want to give me a going away present, please donate to my Goat-Fund. There will be a donation jar at the door if you're feeling generous. :) Any contribution is very dearly appreciated. But please don't feel obligated.

Friday, Feb. 27
2434 Woodstock Rd.
Columbus, OH
8:00

Getting ready for the Farm

2009-01-15T10:41:00.009-05:00

Wow, no posts for December! What a bad little blogger I have been. But I'm back!

I just spent 4 days at Olde Oak Farm in Orono, Maine last week. If you haven't been paying attention, that's where I'll call home for the the 2009 farming season. And I'll be heading there early in March, or whenever I can find someone to take over my lease...Anyone need a place to live????

It was quite a busy weekend. When I got there, Scott and Nate had to get busy thawing the pipes in the cheese plant that had froze the night before. (Did I mention it was cooooold!) It could have been bad if the water had froze all the way down into the ground...we were supposed to make cheese the following day and Scott explained it could be quite an expense if he had to call anyone to dig down and thaw the pipes underground. But with much patience and propane torch power, the water finally thawed. Whew!

Scott describes daily life on the farm as dealing with one crisis after another. You never know what will break or what plans change, but the day never goes as you think it will. So really, it was a perfect start to my trip to the farm. I was still pretty wound up from my week at the office job, and it took a while for me to relax and fall into the rhythm of the farm. It's a strange time of year though, because everything was very laid back. I have to remind myself it will not be this way come springtime.

I really enjoyed the weekend. Nate and I went snow shoeing a couple times through the woods at the new farm. It was beautiful! Lots of snow! Got to see the new house and it's looking more and more like a house! One night we had Moose stew for dinner, which I still find hilarious (and delicious)! Friday, Nate and I worked most of the day in the cheeseplant after feeding the goats. We made mozzarella--and let me say, it was excellent! :) Market on Saturday was interesting. It was definitely cold, but I was ready in my "Dell" Suit. I felt like I was wearing one of those sumo wrestler suits. So cozy. We didn't sell a lot of cheese, I guess not too many people felt like sacrificing their body heat for delicious cheese. By Saturday night, I was wiped out. Jen, Scott, Nate and I shared a picnic style dinner at the new house. It was so nice.

I've been thinking a lot lately about my friends and the Ohio folks I will miss when I go to Maine. This last year in Columbus has been great! I've met some awesome people and really feel at home here. So the move to the farm will be all that much more of a transition. I'm going to be so out of place for awhile I think. I will have lots to focus on and lots to learn about farming and goats and cheese. And the best goat farming/cheesemakers in Maine to support me. Mmmm!

Fun Photos!

2008-11-21T13:15:00.005-05:00

Slow Food Columbus did a tour of Athens, Ohio a few weekends ago. We had a great time at Green Edge learning about fungi in the mushroom house, snacking on sprouts, and touring their farm. If you click on Athens Hills CSA in my blog list, that's their website. They have a great winter CSA you can sign up for!

Oyster Mushrooms at Green Edge Gardens.

Sunflower Sprouts in the greenhouse at Green Edge.

This is Nate. We'll be working together in March. Hi Nate! I stole this picture from facebook. :)

The Cheese Biz

2008-11-21T10:46:00.002-05:00

I got a job at Katzinger's Deli! I'll be manning (womaning?) the cheese counter Friday nights and Sundays. I've been instructed by Scott from Olde Oak Farm to taste as many cheeses as I can before I move to the farm in March. So this works perfectly. I'll get to talk about and taste and learn about over 100 cheeses--recommend wines and breads that go with them. Get people excited about cheese! Excellent. If you're in the Columbus area, stop in on Sundays 11a-7p or Fridays after work and we'll have some cheese.

Katzinger's Deli website

Michael Pollan speaking in Ohio

2008-10-18T10:33:00.007-04:00

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma (which I am currently reading) is speaking at Oberlin College on Tuesday, October 28. I don't think I'll be able to make it. Oberlin is a 2+ hour drive from Columbus.

But I do encourage anyone else out there to go see him if you can. I am really enjoying his book. I can only read a little at a time because he's so in depth--there is a lot to learn and think about. I'm still on the first part of the book --Corn. He covers everything from the history of farming in the U.S., the invention of chemical fertilizers and the boom of corn production to factory farms and feedlots. It's so fascinating...and moderately horrifying. A few of my friends have read or are currently reading this book also. We're all amazed at Mr. Pollan's story.

I found this on the Penguin Books website:

A few facts and figures from The Omnivore's Dilemma

Of the 38 ingredients it takes to make a McNugget, there are at least 13
that are derived from corn.
One in every five American meals today is eaten in the car.

The food industry burns nearly a fifth of all the petroleum consumed in
the United States¯more than we burn with our cars and more than any other
industry consumes.

It takes ten calories of fossil fuel energy to deliver one calorie of
food energy to an American plate.

Industrial fertilizer and industrial pesticides both owe their existence
to the conversion of the World War II munitions industry to civilian uses—nerve
gases became pesticides, and ammonium nitrate explosives became nitrogen
fertilizers.

Because of the obesity epidemic, today’s generation of children will be
the first generation of Americans whose life expectancy will actually be shorter
than their parents’ life expectancy.

Integration Acres

2008-10-15T11:08:00.011-04:00

Last weekend some friends and I visited Integration Acres near Athens, OH for a tour with OEFFA. We arrived a little late, but met up with the group in the cheese plant where Chris was explaining the cheesemaking process. He also spoke about the pawpaw trees that he grows at Integration and we tasted the two cheeses he makes, a basic feta and chevre.

From there, Chris showed us where he milks the ladies outside. His farm used to be a cow dairy, so he has incorporated that into his goat milking operation. He can milk 4 goats at a time and next year plans to use the already installed pipeline that will pump the milk right into the cooling and storage room.

Chris then took us for a walk up the hill to the top of the field his goats were happily browsing. Chris milks about 15 goats. He has a mix of Nubians, LaManchas and Alpines. He just started making cheese last year and everything he knows, he's learned from reading books.

I noticed that Chris doesn't disbud the horns on his goats. He said that he does everything at Integration acres naturally. He said he also does not bottle feed his goats. But they seemed pretty personable. This one actually followed us partially through the field.

Chris rotationally grazes his goats. He has 35 acres of land and over the summer installed about 3,500 feet of fencing. We will be rotationally grazing the goats at Olde Oak Farm next year. Scott says Olde Oak will be the only dairy goat farm in Maine practicing rotational grazing.

I need to begin thinking about what I will do when I get back to Ohio next year. I had a great time in Athens this weekend and I think I may move to that area if I could find a way to make a living. The farming scene seems to be very active with lots of young and old farmers in the area. Athens also has a well known farmers market, and it's a town that supports a lot of organic and locally grown products.

Would you like to check out Integration Acres? http://www.integrationacres.com/

Olde Oak Farm

2008-10-14T15:33:00.005-04:00

I'm very happy to announce that I'll be a member of Team Cheese! at Olde Oak Farm come March, 2009. I made the decision based on several factors. A big consideration was where in their evolution the farm and cheese makers are. Olde Oak farm is still growing. Jen and Scott have big ideas and are excited to try new things. I'll need to be flexible and creative when starting up my own farm and these will be invaluable lessons to learn. I also felt more of a connection with Jen and Scott and Nate, and that's also important for me because I'll be working so closely with them for the time that I'm in Maine. That said, I know I'll miss out on Caitlin's years and years of experience as a cheese maker, and I'm hoping to get another chance to visit her at Appleton Creamery next year.

And check it out! Olde Oak Farm was featured in the Bangor Daily news yesterday! What excellent timing, don't you think? Go read it!
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/90969.html

Fleet Foxes feat. Goats!

2008-10-06T16:47:00.002-04:00

AAHHH! This is great! I love Fleet Foxes! They are coming to the Wexner Center this Wednesday, and I'm very excited to see them live. If you haven't heard their music, I really hope you check them out.
What does this have to do with goat farming??

Check out their video HERE on Youtube!

This is just a quicky...
still working on my trip to Maine post. Should be up soon!

Mainly Maine

2008-10-05T09:49:00.012-04:00

Wow! What a trip. Russ and I had a great time in Maine! We spent a few days hiking around Acadia National Park. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I took so many photos, it was hard to keep my camera out of my hands. Everywhere I looked there was a gorgeous view of the ocean or the rocks or a mountain. We actually went into Bar Harbor one afternoon just to give our eyes a rest. On our last day in Acadia the fog was rolling in up Cadillac Mountain from the ocean. We spent the afternoon hiking to Dorr Mountain and back up Cadillac, taking lots more photos along the way. I can't wait to go back and explore more of this park! (You can see my photos at my Picasa web album.)

Bring on the Goat Farms!!

I spent the last few days of my trip to Maine on two different farms. Sunday with Caitlin at her farm, Appleton Creamery and Monday/Tuesday with Scott, Jen and Nate at Olde Oak Farm.

Caitlin put me right to work in the dairy using a sausage maker to form logs of chevre. She was working on Halloumi cheese, a mix of sheep and goat milk cheese that is good for grilling. We talked for hours and she explained everything she did. Between rain showers she gave me a tour of the place. I didn't have my camera on me, so no photos to show. But I was impressed with all that she does in a limited amount of space.

Caitlin milks about 30 ornery Alpine goats twice a day, and she makes cheese with the milk from her goats and some sheep milk from a neighbor when she can get it. She sells her cheese at 6 farm markets in the area, needless to say she's a busy woman! I stayed for the evening milking and watched as she used a machine pump to milk 2 goats at a time. I tried, not very successfully, to help her coral the goats and get each one through milking...It took a while as some goats busted into the room every time Caitlin opened the gate. It was quite an experience.

The following day Russ and I arrived at the Olde Oak Farm in Orono. Jen and Nate showed us around and introduced us to the goats. They have Nubians at Olde Oak, which were in heat so they were very sweet and wagged their tails a lot. (I get a kick out of that.)

As we looked around, Jen explained that a couple years ago, a housing development moved in next door. Since then they have looked for a new farm, and are currently in the process of expanding and building a new house on a 100 acre farm in a place called Maxfield. The cheese plant,and the buck barn are actually mobile, so they will be moved to the new farm with goats and all later this year.

Jen said that everything they do now will basically be doubled next year. They plan to be milking 21 does next year and are adding a couple more farm markets to their schedule.

We drove up to see the new farm, and as Nate went off to pick apples looking very Jonny Appleseed-esque, Scott showed us around the structure that will become their home. I was really impressed with the level of detail and planning that has gone into the design of the house. They are building with apprentices and guests in mind, and I can't wait to see it completed.

When we got back to the current farm, I helped Jen and Scott with milking. They also used the machine pumps, but only do one goat at a time. The machine doesn't get all the milk from the teats, so I got to help hand milk the goats! It was slow going and I accidently sprayed myslef with milk more than once, but I think I did pretty well overall. Only one or two goats tried to sit on me while I was milking. Apparently, they can tell when someone is new to milking and just like school kids, try to take full advantage of the newby. I didn't spill the bucket, which both Scott and Jen said is the most important goal. When you spill the bucket...you stop and clean everything.

Both Caitlin and Scott, Jen and Nate tried to impress on me the amount of work that goes into working and living on the farm, especially during peak season--May and June. Scott said that we'll laugh and cry and be exhausted, phsically and mentally, but that most importantly, it's worth it. He says he wouldn't change a thing. And in March I'll get to experience all of this, for better or worse I guess. But I have a great feeling about it all. I can't wait to get to work and make it work.

End of summer, bring on the Fall!

2008-09-24T08:42:00.006-04:00

The Flying J Dinner on Saturday was just what everyone expected: Delicious, warm, fun and inspiring. Unfortunately, I'm on the road in Maine and don't have the means to upload my photos...those will be delayed until I get home on Oct. 2. But you can read and see photos of our Shake the Hand that Feeds You dinner here on Colleen's blog.

Today, Russ and I woke up in Stonington, ME. We got in last night to this small, coastal town located right on the southern tip of Deer Isle. It's all so picturesque. I can't wait to upload my photos. The combination of salty air, inviting cafes and little art galleries make me wish I could spend more time here in each little town. But I must stay focused! We will be traveling to Acadia National Park today. Then in a few days, back down to Camden, where Russ lived and worked last summer. Finally, Sunday I will spend the day at Appleton Creamery with Caitlin and Monday I'll drive back up to Orono to hang with Jen and Scott at the Olde Oak Farm.

Yesterday, Russ and I drove up from Brooklyn, NY through Portsmouth, NH, where we stopped to have lunch at the Friendly Toast, a recommendation from Jane, a fellow Slow Food member. I'm so glad she recommended it! I had rhubarb bread french toast and it was soooo good! Thanks for the rec. Jane!

More to come soon...

Pawpaws to the People

2008-09-14T05:13:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I visited the Pawpaw festival with some Slow Food friends. The pawpaws were so good! Sweet and rich like custard. Banana/mango sweetness!! I finally met Chris from Integration Acres. Our Slow Food group would love to visit his farm, but understandably, he's been very busy lately. He was very busy yesterday handing out pawpaw samples along with a variety of products made with pawpaws, spicebush berries, and goat cheese!
Integration Acres added a small dairy goat herd a couple years ago and has been making cheese for about a year now. I tried the chevre. It's nice and mild. And when I tried it, I immediately wanted to try my hand at making some.

I also attended a short workshop yesterday that was more like a Q and A about goat farming. I felt pretty knowledgeable about everything they mentioned...which means I must be doing my homework...but I still have no actual goat experience. I spoke with one of the ladies giving the talk afterward. Her name is Jen and she has worked with goats on her family's farm for 14 years. She also currently works for Chris at Integration Acres and is responsible for daily milking of the goats. It was good to meet someone my age who is so experienced and knowledgeable with goats. We will definitely keep in touch. OEFFA is doing a forest harvesting workshop at Integration Acres on October 11. I will definitely be there. And hopefully, I can plan more visits soon.

Now the pawpaw festival is over.
Next is our Slow Food dinner at Flying J farm!
And immediately following that, I will be leaving for a 2 week vacation to Maine Next Sunday. I am visiting Olde Oak Farm and Appleton Creamery to learn more about their apprenticeships.
April will be here before I know it...and my own "year of the goat" will take shape.

Green Living Fayre

2008-09-03T09:50:00.007-04:00

The Ohio Green Living Fayre was Monday. This was the second year for the fayre, but the first time I went. What a great event! Met so many people, and even learned a little.
Mostly, it was a relief to see so many people interested in and excited about sustainable living. All these people are making an effort to do something positive, to live by example, to change the way we all think about our impact on the earth. It was held at Flying J Farm, the perfect setting for the event. Such a beautiful place, I felt right at home.

Most interesting to me was the workshop on straw bale construction by Jay from Blue Rock Station. www.bluerockstation.com

Jay gives workshops on how to build your own straw bale structure, and I plan on attending one of these workshops next spring.

Other highlights from the fayre included learning about solar power from Matt from Dovetail Solar and Wind, Snowville Creamery icecream and milk tasting, meeting the guys from Rootdown, learning about Simply Living, and Heart of Ohio.

I was there representing Slow Food Columbus with Natalie and we're already looking forward to next year's event.

Kefir Success

2008-08-21T15:28:00.004-04:00

Mmmm! Can you taste it? The sweet taste of success! Kefir is actually very simple to make...but somehow I botched the first batch. I left it sit out too long and it separated into curds and whey, which is still drinkable according to my dealer. But I was unhappy with it. I want my kefir to be smooth like runny yogurt.
My method: I poured 1 pint of milk over 1 tbsp. kefir grains in a 1 litter glass jar with lid. I found the jar by chance at a yard sale for $1 the previous weekend. I used skim milk because it was all they had left at the greener grocer last weekend. (I hear it works well with any milk.) I sat the jar on a shelf in my basement for just about 24 hours. The basement is good because the temperature stays very regulated...not too warm, not chilly. I checked it at 12 or 14 hours and it was just getting into the slimy phase. So I left it there over night and by morning it was ready to go! I blend 4 to 5 oz. of kefir with a frozen banana, some honey and a bit of fresh peach slices. Delicious breakfast!

My kefir dealer gave me this website on her instruction sheet. It's helpful, but I must say this guy is a bit more kefir-crazed than I am.

Kefir!

2008-08-14T15:32:00.003-04:00

It's mid-August and the summer should be winding down. Kids are headed back to school soon...but my summer is only getting busier as autumn approaches!

Saturday, I'm stopping by the Clintonville farmer's market to pick up some *free* kefir grains from a girl who has spent her summer working at Flying J farm. I tried out some store-bought kefir last week and really enjoyed it as a base for a fruit smoothie! Just add 4 to 6 oz. of kefir with a frozen banana and any other bits of fruit you may have sitting around. Blend and Enjoy!!

What is kefir? you ask...well kefir is basically fermented milk. The kefir grains are a mixture of good bacteria and yeasts.

Just add kefir grains to some milk and let it sit out in a nice, warm place for 12 to 24 hours. And ta-da! Kefir!!

Aside from my great kefir experiment, I am also in the process of contacting the farmers in Maine that I have applied to work for through MOFGA. My plan is to go to work on a dairy goat farm in April, 2009 - September/October, 2009. I've turned in my MOFGA application and had it forwarded to 4 dairy goat farms in Maine. Later in September, I'm planning a vacation/road trip to Maine in order to meet some of these farmers and do a little camping at Acadia. I'll keep it posted ...my little dairy goat adventure!

Guerrilla Gardening

2008-07-26T06:26:00.005-04:00

So it's not exactly goat related, but....what a great idea!!
This NYT article follows Richard Reynolds, author of "On Guerrilla Gardening" on one of his late night gardening excursions in London. Apparently this illegal movement is growing in popularity around the UK but it got it's start in NYC in the 1970s. I really admire the idea of cultivating a space, any space, especially if it's rundown, ugly and unused. Of course I'm also drawn to the subversive nature of the movement. It's illegal because you're gardening on someone else's land without permission.
There's a website with forums for people who are interested. If you're in the Columbus, Ohio area, look me up and let's get out there and garden!
Homepage and forums for gardeners

Fun Facts!

2008-07-19T08:59:00.002-04:00

* Both male and female goats can have beards!
* Goats are intelligent, inquisitive and very playful!
* The vicious rumor is untrue; goats do not eat tin cans!
* Goats don't have any upper front teeth! They do have a tough toothless “dental pad”. Goats also have teeth on the top and bottom of their jaw further back in the mouth.

The following is from the current issue of the Dairy Goat Journal (link above)

"Llamas, donkeys and trained dogs can guard goats quite effectively."

"We keep two gelded male llamas to guard our
goats from coyotes and stray dogs. They are rescue
llamas from SELR, (South East Llama Rescue), and
they are happy to eat what the goats eat. That keeps our
costs down. Goat babies love them and play on them like 'llama mountains.'"

I was just having a conversation at work this week about the dangers of predators to a herd of goats. This is an issue I cannot fully appreciate since I've never lived on a farm or had to deal with it before. ...Well I do live in a house with both a ferocious kitty and a dwarf rabbit...we keep them on separate floors and so far they've never met. I plan to keep it that way.

"Goat berries and urine are pH neutral, beneficial to the environment, and suitable for composting or immediate application to the garden."

"This is very sandy soil with no rocks to be found. Few plants can survive in sandy soil, but the dairy goats and llamas have augmented this land tremendously, which makes it ready for a greater variety of plants. We use a snow shovel to collect loads of goat and llama berries to add to compost, moving it with a nifty little garden trailer that follows behind a lawn tractor."

Wrap up: National Goat Show

2008-07-16T13:21:00.016-04:00

Russ and I attended Sunday evening and Monday of the goat show down in Louisville, KY. Got a chance to see and pet a lot of goats, talk to some of the owners and watch the Toggenburg competition.

It was great to see so many goats and talk to the owners. I was probably most surprised to learn that many farmers do not use the milk to make anything. Many just feed it to their pigs, dogs or kittens. I think I'm realizing that many goat keepers do it as a hobby...a very expensive and time-consuming hobby. This is a little discouraging to me because my ideal situation would be to work a part time job on the side in the beginning, and work towards full time farming and cheesemaking. I guess like anything else, it's a process and it takes patience, time and energy.

Currently I'm enjoying the Tomato Basil farmstead goat cheese from Split Creek Farm in S.C. Mmmm!!! Very good! I also met some goat farmers from southern Ohio. To my surprise, I fell in love with some Nigerian Dwarf goats from South Salem, Ohio. When I mentioned my hometown is Chillicothe, I was in. *grins* A woman whose name is Helen (i think?) was very encouraging and she showed us around and introduced us to a few other farmers including Evan Evans of Split Creek Farm.

Other than that, we watched a lot of Toggs be shown and judged. I had never seen a goat show before. It takes a long time and a lot of walking the goats around the ring to decide on a winner. When the judge announced the results from each group of goats, he or she would line them up and go down the line explaining why each goat placed above the one next to it. So it was very informative and very interesting to see them compared and judged side by side with such scrutiny.
Full results are posted at the ADGA website!!

Oh-Ky Nationals

2008-07-05T07:07:00.002-04:00

This week I'm planning my trip to Louisville to attend the National Dairy Goat Show!! I will be there Sunday and Monday and ready to learn as much as I can soak up in 24 hours.

I'm sure I'll have a million questions when I get there, but there are several things I want to focus on at the show:
Breed standards and differences between the breeds
Physical aspects/makeup of a good dairy goat

There's a good mix of events on Sunday and Monday:
Sunday:
Toggenburg Junior Show
Recorded Grade Jr. Show
Monday:
Toggenburg Senior Show
Recorded Grade Senior Show
Oberhasli Milkout
Oberhasli Junior Show
Saanen Milkout
Saanen Junior Show

I'm hoping to learn a lot about these breeds. And this is a good mix of breeds to get familiar with. (From reading, I sometimes feel like Alpines and Nubians get all the dairy goat glory.)

Hopefully there will also be some good goat cheese to sample/purchase and lots of people to talk to and learn from. I'll have a full report next week along with some cheese recipes that I'm looking to try out!

Real Milk

2008-06-22T07:46:00.002-04:00

"Contrary to current popular belief, pasteurization of milk is not a step forward in nutrition and health. It is a step backward. Certain important nutritional elements such as vitamins, enzymes and minerals are lost. Low standards of milk production are encouraged; incentive for high-grade milk production is discouraged; competition in distribution is narrowed; monopoly control of producers is made possible; and the dietary value of milk is lowered, while the cost to the consumer is increased." Jean Bullitt Darlington, 1947.

Also, while looking into cheese making recipes this week I learned that the process of pasteurization actually breaks down the natural calcium content in raw milk. In order to acidify the milk for cheese making, calcium chloride must be added back to the milk first. And most of what I read this week said don't even bother with "ultra-pasteurized" milk. All the milk on the shelf at my local Giant Eagle grocery store is of the Ultra-pasteurized type.

It's an outrage to me that we have let the food corporations and our greed take control of and exterminate local food production in this country. I think we are beginning to realize what is going on and I think it's shifting towards more local production...but raw milk lags way behind the recent popularity of organic produce. I know if more people were educated on raw milk or could read the unbiased studies for themselves, they would choose real milk over the ultra-pasteurized, homogenized "milk."

Farm Cheese!

2008-06-17T16:50:00.002-04:00

I had my first "cheese making" experience yesterday! I found this website on Youtube that shows how to make a SIMPLE cheese. Sorry no photos as I have just moved and have no idea where I stuck my camera. :(
But the cheese turned out nice. It was pretty bland. I added salt and some fresh oregano from my herb garden.
Here's the website where I found the recipe. It's called the Urban Home on the free range:
http://web.mac.com/laurenfritz73/Urban_Home/Home.html

The cheese just includes some fresh milk and some vinegar. Very easy.

Show Goats (and a short PSA)

2008-06-14T03:38:00.007-04:00

The National Dairy Goat Show is in Louisville, KY this year--a 3 1/2 hour drive from Columbus--so I'm going! I don't have any goats, but I assume that it's open to the public. I can't hang out for the whole week, but a couple days of goat-filled activities sounds great! My plan is to attend the Sunday afternoon Toggenburg and Recorded Grade junior show, then stay through Monday for Senior Toggs, Senior Recorded Grade, Oberhasli Milk Out and junior show and Saanen Milk Out and junior show.
I think I'm going to learn a lot. At this point, I don't even know what they mean by "milk out." And what is a Recorded Grade...I should probably look that up...

...Recorded Grade: Does who do not qualify for either the Purebred or American herd books (adga.org)
So a doe may be considered either Native on Performance (if she attains the status of a star milker) or Native on Appearance (if she meets a specific breed standard.)
Excellent! I'm looking forward to the National Show, which is July 12 - 18....coming up soon!

And a final thought for today...a quick public service announcement from yours truly...
There has been a lot of press on the current nationwide Salmonella scare with tomatoes. Sadly, it seems the local media in this area at least, are not suggesting the most obvious way to protect yourself...BUY IT LOCAL! Of course if you're getting your food off the conveyor belt from some place in California or Mexico, you have no idea where it's been or what has been done with it. I've been really annoyed visiting Giant Eagle this week and seeing the produce section lined with strawberries from -- California???!! So expensive! They don't even taste like strawberries. Buy it local and you can ask the person who grew it where it's been and if they've used any chemicals or pesticides.
Pickyourown.org lists state by state and county by county places to pick your own produce straight outta the field.

Slow Goat

2008-06-08T05:31:00.002-04:00

Well it's been a long few weeks. As it turns out, I did not get a chance to visit Capriole Farm in Indiana. But I am re-scheduling a visit later this summer.

I recently learned about Caprine Estates, a dairy goat milk manufacturing and marketing company in Bellbrook, Ohio. With the price of gas, this sounds like a much more economical choice. Caprine is the first Grade A goat dairy processing plant in Ohio since the 1930s, and they have a herd of over 1,000 goats!! Much, much bigger than anything I plan to do in the future, but definitely worth a visit I think.

Forgot I said I'd do a book report on Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats...coming soon-ish!!!

Currently I'm reading The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid. It's not so much about goats, but definitely a good read on the history of cow's milk production in America and the shift from raw milk to the ultra-pasteurized, homogenized "milk" found at your local grocery store.
(Also, I should probably mention now that no, I have never tasted raw or un-pasteurized milk. I'm working on that too...it's hard to come by!!! And I hope to help change this in the coming years.)
But I think this book is really a great read for anyone interested in knowing where their food comes from. It says a lot about our culture and where we've come from in the past 100 years.
I just skipped ahead to the chapter on homogenization, because I don't understand that process yet, and I learned something ...
Apparently General Electric (GE) ran a campaign in the 1950s to bolster the popularity of homogenized milk production with the slogan, "Progress is our most important product." This campaign "succeeded in convincing Americans to accept a product designed solely for the profit and convenience of manufacturers and distributors...and hastened the demise of traditional foodways, of which milk with the cream on top was one." p. 239. My favorite part of this little story is that Ronald Regan was GE's choice mouthpiece for the campaign. Apparently he hosted some popular TV show called "The General Electric Theatre."

Well that's all for this week. Enjoy!

Slow Food Columbus

2008-05-17T06:41:00.002-04:00

Well it's been a busy week!
Wednesday evening I attended my first Slow Food meeting! The Columbus convivum is brand-newish and we all got together over some great food (and wine) to generate ideas and plan out future events.
My assignment: Look into the Pawpaw and if anyone is currently growing them in Ohio. I also met Dick and Elizabeth of Flying J Farm of Johnstown, Ohio. Will have to visit soon. Though not a goat farm, they raise grass fed beef and organic produce.

On the goat front I've been reading and taking lots of notes from Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats. I'm learning a lot of the logistical aspects to raising goats such as barn construction/layout and milk storage tips. I just began a long chapter on the diet of goats. So much information! Book report coming soon!

And finally, I'm visiting my first dairy goat farm!! Capriole Farm in Greenville, Indiana. I read about this farm in The Year of the Goat and looked up their website. Tomorrow is their Spring Farm Day so we're packing a picnic, maybe a bottle of wine and heading West. Hoping the weather is fair tomorrow and hoping to meet some of the Alpines who supply the milk for Capriole's award winning cheeses !! Full report coming next week...

Hello Goats!

2008-05-13T16:35:00.000-04:00

There has got to be a way to make this work! In my head there is this solid vision of the dairy farm I want to run. I know if I just had the start up cost and land...I could make it work. I'm going to make it work...

...But currently I work from a desk at an insurance company in Columbus, Ohio. I'm intimately familiar with the filing system! I keep myself well stocked in all the necessary tools of my job: staples, paper clips, rubber bands, hi-lighters, and file folders...and coffee, of course. So what's wrong with that? Well, it's unfullfilling to say the least. I've been turned down for more than a fair share of new jobs in the past year, so let's face it: I'm just not cut out for this office job stuff.

How did I get turned on to the world of goat farming? Good question. It's hard to say. I knew I was attracted to the farming lifestyle. For a while I wanted to grow a vineyard and make wine, I even produced a short, independent documentary on Ohio wines last summer. But in the process I think I realized that I'm not cut out for the vineyard/winemaking process. I gave it a lot of thought and i started looking into MOFGA. The state of Maine has an organic farming program that takes apprentices for the summer months at many small-scale organic farms. And this is something I will also do in the future ...but again, I can't afford it this summer. Credit debt is really cramping my style here.

Then I read The Year of the Goat, by Margaret Hathaway and I was convinced that goats are the answer for me. Not just goats. Dairy goats!!
Check it out here:
http://www.karlschatz.com/yearofthegoat/