everything's better with (goat's milk) butter

It just tastes better with butter.  Julia Child taught me well.
The farm's Holstein/Jersey cross Jazzy is on maternity leave, so my awesome milking girls have picked up the slack.  Several are being milked through to give us a steady supply of milk this winter and spring.  Culturing the raw cream for 24 hrs gives it a delicious tang and increases probiotic cultures.  The cultured buttermilk is amazing for baking too - this is the real stuff!  Unlike yellow butter from grass fed cows, butter from the goats' milk is pure white.  These girls have already converted beta carotene into Vitamin A - thus their butter's pristine whiteness.  The butter yield from goat's milk versus cow's milk is greater since Nigerian Dwarf's butterfat% can be up to 10% in late lactation.  In my experience, goats are all around more efficient and smarter than cows.  And as Julia Child says, "If you're afraid of butter, use cream." :)



goat's milk yoghurt


Yoghurt was the first thing I made with milk from my first goats, Kizzy & Cala, and regularly since then.  That first attempt I started out with 1 quart of milk- now it's 2 gallons at a time, every couple of weeks because we eat a lot of it. Goat's milk yoghurt is creamy and thick.  I don't add any sweeteners, thickeners, or artificial flavors....it's just goat's milk + fermented probiotic cultures.  An extended fermentation makes it thick and creamy like Greek-style but retains all the vitamins & minerals contained in whey.  Topped with jam from the farm's organic strawberries, it's delicious.




Herd Health Update


CAE, CL, Johnnes, Brucellosis, and TB-free herd

We work hard to keep our small herd of purebred Nigerian Dwarf goats happy & healthy. Sweet Land Nigerians is a closed herd and consistently tests negative for goat diseases (August 2012, June 2015, January 2017). Cute new kids are on the way.  This year's kidding season begins late March/April 2017.  Kudos to the girls for keeping us in a steady supply of milk all winter for butter and cheese making!