Nigerian Dwarf Dairy
[Open to the Public for free visiting Saturdays 11-5 from May 25th-October 31st 2024.]
Welcome to Sunflower Farm - where all the romance of farm life is still very much a reality. Looking for delicious local cheese made in small daily batches? You have come to the right place. May-October, our feta, chevre, yogurt, caramels, fudge, truffles and cajeta are available in our self serve farm shop. Come check out what is available, then relax a bit and watch the goats grazing in the field.
We smile when folks visiting ask us if all the goats have names. Not only do they all have names, they all have distinct calls we know even from the kitchen, they each have preferences for their favorite treats, and places they most love to be scratched. In the milkroom, each mama has their own approach to our time together: Plum likes to be milked without her head closed in to the head gate. Belle insists that she be milked one side at a time. After Rhubarb is milked, she waits on the milk stand for a few minutes of love before she is ready to hop down and go about her day. And Sweet Pea looks right at our kitchen window and calls us to the barn each morning while we are getting our coffee brewed.
There are lots of hot words in the sustainable food movement. Some mean very different things depending on who is using them and for what purpose, but for us, “local” dairy products are unique because each bite is intimately connected to the way the animals at our farm live. Even a town over, the goats are eating different grass, enjoying a different breeze, their milk is not from Claire and Radish and Cinnamon. We find great joy in sharing our lovely goats with visitors so that when they eat our chèvre or feta or yogurt or caramels, they taste even better because they are remembering a sunny summer day in the field with our herd. Hopefully you can taste the love.