What is "Farmstead" Milk Soap?

Farmstead soap set, ready to ship

After a busy month filling holiday orders we've finally had a day or two to catch up on other things. Throughout the rush to get everyone their presents a bunch of questions came up about our soaps and what makes them special. A common question was in regard to the term "farmstead" soap.

What Does "Farmstead" Mean?

In the cheese world the term farmstead refers to the fact that the milk used for cheesemaking comes from the cheesemaker's own herd of dairy animals. Only if the cheesemaker ALSO milks the goats can he/she label their cheese as farmstead cheese. If the cheesemaker is buying milk from another dairy the cheese can't be labeled as farmstead cheese. Simple as that.

Since the milk we use to make our soaps comes from our own dairy herd we decided to transfer the term "farmstead" over to the soap world.

Why Does "Farmstead" Soap Matter?

With our farmstead soap you know exactly where the milk comes from. That can't be said for most other soaps. The majority of goat's milk soap uses powdered milk or milk from the store. Generally, the milk is coming from very large dairies where the goats are kept in confinement. At a minimum, you can be pretty certain that those goats don't have access to fresh pasture everyday. There's also no way to know the conditions in which they live. With our soap you know that the goat's milk comes from happy and healthy goats that are free to live their lives expressing their full goat-ness.

It might sound silly to some, but I like that peace of mind. 

Happy goats, happy soap!

Switching to Once A Day Milking - Drying Off the Goats


Bridget says, "Yeah, I could use a breather"

Now that it's officially the middle of December (time flies), we've started "drying off" the dairy goats. What does that mean? It means that in January we are going to stop milking for a few months and this is the first step towards making that a possibility. A week or two ago we switched from milking twice per day to milking once per day. If we were to abruptly stop milking altogether we'd risk the goats getting an infection, and even doing it slowly we still run that risk. You can just imagine their udders being full and no one to milk them, not a good situation. So we still milk, just a little less often. Over the course of December we'll also tone back the sprouted grains we're feeding and gently work their bodies out of milk production.

Around the end of December/beginning of January we'll stop milking completely and wait to milk again until the Spring when the goats "kid" (give birth). The three month break gives the girls a chance to rest and focus their bodily energy on growing strong and healthy kids for Spring. It's also colder outside, so the more of their caloric intake that they can keep within their bodies the warmer they'll be (putting on the holiday pounds and not feeling bad about it).

Our style of dairying is called "seasonal dairying". We try to have all of the goats "kid" around the same time in early spring (March/April). We'll milk from April through December and then everyone gets a break, including us. 

Seasonal dairying used to be the norm for milk producers. Most dairy farmers would choose the winter months for a rest. The grass stops growing as fast and it's really cold outside. Timing births for early spring also makes sense, since that's when grass growth is the strongest.

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To Your Health! Eggnog, Raw And Fresh

What is the month of December without Eggnog?

Eggnog is one of those foods I would indulge in year round if possible. When the holidays roll around and that little creamy yellow carton of joy shows up in the supermarket once again, I can't help but feel conflicted emotions. One is pure joy accompanied by a gluttonous urge to grab the carton and guzzle it right there in the shop. The other is sadness and dismay when remember how seriously unhealthy it is for you. I actually look at the ingredients every year. Yes, I've read them many times before and I'm well aware of what I'll find before I look, but for whatever reason I'm eternally hopefully that someone has granted my wish of an eggnog that I could sip on more than once or twice in the month of December without feeling like I'm doing myself a serious disservice.

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