Thursday, February 26, 2009

kidding around.

A friend and I just did a tour of Harley Farms. I've bought their delicious cheeses for years, and knew it was up the coast, but never actually visited until this week.

Dee Harley is one of a growing number of (wildly successful) women farmers, and the care she puts into her products and her herd is very clear in every aspect of her operation. (She even cares about her neighbors - the breed she manages was selected because the animals are very quiet. Honestly, we were standing there surrounded by HUNDREDS of goats, and there was just a lot of rustling and chewing and a few babies bleating. She even traded her (barking) dogs guarding the herd for a couple of llamas. Just as tough, but with less barking and more spitting.)

Our tour group got to spend a lot of time with the dozens of brand new kids, petting them and holding them and making all the usual "aww" sounds that people make around baby animals.

Then we were led through the milking facility, where we all took a turn milking one (very patient) goat. The processing room was a little slow - because of all the new births they aren't actually making a lot of cheese right now. But here you can see a lot of the products that they sell, and the flower garden providing petals for all of those pretty designs is just outside the processing room's back door.

The shop is in the original milking barn, and had everything from goat milk soap to goat milk fudge, and they have a stunning dining room upstairs in the hayloft for private dinners and special events.

Speaking of events, they're just starting a farm dinner series that sounds incredible - I have to start saving my pennies.