Gothberg Farms

Kidding Starts at the Goat Dairy

2012-02-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

Need This for Attitude Adjustments

Clean Pens/Sanitized Walls

Quasar Welcomes Cassiopeia

The calendar says February 13, 2012. But the sky, the temperature, the pace of life all say Spring is coming. While we are enjoying the warmest kidding season ever, there is still a lot of work to do. Just the behind the scenes prep work takes weeks. We have been fixing, sanding, repairing, painting, installing, revamping....oh..and then the usual clean up, spiff up, sanitize, and get ready for long days and sleepless nights. It has become somewhat predictable now at about 10 years into it (neophytes still). An air of eager anticipation seems to take over us and onward we go.

Eliza-due 2/20/2012

Labor & Delivery Supplies & Clean Towels Galore

Grain Feeders Clean & Ready

The older I get, the more important this becomes.

SHADOW!!!!!! Brief moment of SUN!

Remembering to Enjoy the Life

Cheese Saturday (and Sunday!)

2012-02-10T06:29:00.000-08:00

Snow Geese-Across from us at @ Sunset Rd.

Cheese Weekend!! WooHoo! We do love that. We will open here at the Farm Stand BOTH Saturday and Sunday from 10am-4pm (our first try at longer hours). If it works out, we will consider keeping them. Remember, it is Bird Festival in Edison-so lots going on in our little town.

We will also be at the Anacortes Farmers Market, inside, at the Depot Arts Center at 7th St. & R Ave. from 9am-2pm. Stop by and meet our newest employee, Jenna. She is fun & spunky and loves cheese! The rest of us will be minding the pregnant goats back at the farm.

Happy Cheese!

Weekend Goat Cheese & Bird Festival

2012-02-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

"Resident" Bald Eagle taking flight from our tree!

You see me write about the the amazing birds we have in our area. We are really the lucky ones to live here & experience them on a daily basis. Some great minds decided to share the experiences with you!!! We are having an "Edison Bird Festival" this weekend!! First ever. Woodland Park Zoo even coming for demos & education. Fun featured events scheduled as well. So, make your plans now.

We know you will find tons of great food and experiences here. To meet your goat cheese cravings & serious needs, we will be open here at the Farm Stand both days!!!! There may even be a baby goat to show you (we can't control this one you know).

So mark your calendars, program your phones, and come on out!

Business Challenges of a Small Farmer

2012-02-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again to fill out forms and pay fees for participating in our local farmers markets. This is never an easy task, hitting in the early months of the year when we don't have much income to 'spare'. But as I negotiate the various fees, I am once again shocked at the fee increases.

We are in markets in three counties: Skagit, Snohomish, & Whatcom. Each health department administers their own programs, with their own fee structures. Here's what we pay for 'low risk' food category:
Skagit $125
Snohomish $200
Whatcom $150

We are the same state inspected cheese, sold by the same folks, with the same set ups at all markets. If we happen to want to participate in an additional event in the respective counties, there is a second set of fees. These fees cover only one location. This has restricted our business. Snohomish wants an additional $100 PER event-so guess who has to say "NO" to any special farm events? We surely do not have $100 in 'profit' for the extra expense.

Goat Cheese at the Farmers Market

Then each farmers market has their own fee structure. For our three markets we do in the above counties, our fees to them are $2485.00 for the year, excluding any special events.

With $2960.00 coming right off the top, before any cheese is made or any employees are paid, it is painful. For now, this is just the way of life we have to play by the rules of. I am writing this not so much to complain (well, yes I guess sort of I am), but mostly I think it is important to expose the challenges placed on us small production farmers.

Let's not even get started on all the state and federal employment taxes we have to pay. I sure wish that could go to the employees health care fund.

Farm Stand Open Saturday Feb. 4, 2012

2012-02-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

We will be here and the Farm Stand will be open tomorrow, Feb. 4th.
Hours: 10am-2pm

Come on out for delicious choices for SuperBowl Sunday.

Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE)

2012-01-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

CAE Results Jan. 2012

We are pleased to share with you our results of the whole herd CAE testing for 2012. This is our 7th year of NEGATIVE! It is always nice to have this confirmation right before kidding begins. We test this time of year, every year.

CAE is a disease of goats that can be very debilitating on several fronts. The most commonly seen effects are arthritis and hard udder. Click the links below for a full explanation of this preventable, but transmissible, disease. We fully recognize that not all positive goats exhibit symptoms. It is however, a disease you do not want in your herd. When purchasing animals, demand testing!!!
http://www.vet.uga.edu/VPP/clerk/logan/index.php
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts_waddl/caefaq.aspx

Our first goats had this virus. It was not disclosed. It was not until we had let our kids nurse that we found out. This was heartbreaking and devastating news. It took us a couple of years to break the cycle for prevention and eradication in our herd. Many tears were shed. Many dollars were spent. Many sleepless nights were spent in the barn. My next post will be to describe our method of prevention & eradication.

Tara-Still Miss Her

Tara's Udder at age 5 or 6

Foxey-Beatufiul & Milky

Here are two of the original does we had to cull. I do have their genetics in my offspring however.

Baby Goats......Arriving Soon!!

2012-01-30T06:48:00.000-08:00

Eliza-due soon

It's that season again-Spring kidding. Our kidding calendar is posted, supplies are procured, barns will be cleaned & sanitized this week, then let the birthing begin. We will start out with a frenzy of baby goat cuteness. It is a busy season, short on sleep, short on good meals, and largely unpredictable.

Joe Zell's Triplets

It is also a time of baby goat cuteness, the miracle of birth, and a time for all of us to pull together around here. Our does give birth as naturally as possible. While we do attend almost every delivery, the doe does it all on her own if all is normal. If not, she will be assisted as necessary. On rare occasion, we even have to call the vet. Trust me, we know how lucky we are to have large animal vets who make farm calls.

A Little Extra Warmth

We let the kids nurse their dams for the initial newborn period. This promotes bonding, lets the kids feed on demand for the life sustaining colostrum and warm milk. It also helps promote the natural hormones for the Mom which are important to her well-being after delivery.

After the initial newborn period, the kids are bottle fed, then graduated to the "bucket". This is a group feeder for up to 10 kids at a time. It is really cute seeing their little wagging tails as they feed so vigorously.

Sofie Helps Babysit & Shares Toys!

A Warm Ride

Baby Goats Feeding

Each kid and each doe gets individualized attention here. Our goal is Healthy Mom, Healthy Babies. We have a really good track record, and aim to continue that.

We are still accepting pre-orders for kids. We sell doelings, bucklings(must have paid deposit), and wethers. We provide education, instruction, and moral support for the duration of your goading life. So give us a call! We would love to help you in choosing a "just right" baby goat for you and your lifestyle.
CAE Free herd. All tested Jan. 2012.

Topaz "The Crown Jewel"

2012-01-25T09:42:00.000-08:00

As we end the DHIA year, there is one more little LaMancha dairy goat who deserves recognition. Our little Topaz. She is another remarkable attribute to the herd here. Her year ending records are:

DIM 327 days (she was milked once a day for the past couple of months)
3640 # milk
Butterfat 3.76
Protein 2.99

At 305 days she had milked 3580 lbs. of milk.

Sorry I don't have a current photo. I'll have to rectify that. And yes, we kept her daughter this year. Her name is Jewels.

Our Goat "Ditto"

2012-01-24T17:56:00.000-08:00

Ditto in her Sweatshirt

I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Ditto the Milky Way LaMancha.
This doe just got dried off after milking through for 3 seasons!!! OMG what is not to love? She is personality plus, not afraid of much, loves spoiling and pampering, and demands special treats! Well, she earns it! She would have kept going, I am convinced. She got dried off for owner convenience really. Milking one goat once a day lost its' appeal in the snowstorm last week. I will come to regret this in a day or so when I have to resort to store milk for my coffee. For 3 seasons now, she has milked twice a day in the peak season, and once a day during the winter. She was not bred of course. When the others came back up on the stand for twice a day, so did she.
DHIA records show:
661 days in milk
5060 lbs. of milk
3.61 Butterfat
3.24 Protein

Ditto is almost 6 years old finishing her third season, and has not had a dry year. She was initially milked through because she has so much milk she was having trouble keeping her body condition. We thought a break might do her good. Well, it did. She looks great. Who knows how long she could have milked? Right now she is pretty upset with me for not bringing her up!

Hugs Mandatory aAfter Milking

This is a doe who carries a genetic trait for affection. She will not exit the milk stand with out her daily hug! This is not a joke. And she will not hug new milkers until she trusts them. Always trust the instincts of a goat! Her mother, my all time favorite goat, Same As (daughter of Paradigm) did the same thing. Hugs! Sadly Same As passed away a few years ago. I still miss her.

Same As-The Goat

Luckily we get to choose who we keep here. Yes, milk is important, as is health and vigor. But we have a solid base there (thankfully). So often those who's kids get kept are based somewhat on personality traits. The Same As line is powerful here. And with many good reasons. The heritage from Lucky Star goats is strong, admired, healthy, and milky.

Same As-the Grand Dam

Carbon Copy "Lounging" on the Wall

And the line continues. Another herd favorite is Carbon Copy and her twin sister FAX (beginning to see how we name here?). They are personality plus and their daughters keep the traits too. It is this kind of almost silly stuff to many folks that keeps us going here. Every goat here is known by their personality and individual traits. We simply would not have it any other way.

Finale Friday (With Wine)

2012-01-20T19:01:00.000-08:00

It has been a semi-eventful few days. Weather has been the focus around here. Snow, the first of the season, more than we are used to, more challenging, and then Ice Storms across much of our region to wreak havoc with us Pacific Ocean proximity dwellers. We only got about 8 inches here at the farm, but for some reason it just was not met with the usual exuberance. This kind of weather event, this time of year, for us, is really more of an inconvenience than anything, the truth be told. Goat chores take 2-3 times as long to accomplish, the "commute" to the barn can be a challenge (remember the fake hip of a few years ago?). But not to be forgotten, we are NOT in active kidding season yet, so hey, Thank the Snow Gods. Bring it on now, and how about we just skip February altogether??? That is slated to be a very prolific kidding time frame.

For tonight we have chosen to repeat a wine from a previous post. The wine is "Weather Report" from Peter's Cellars in Mattawa, WA. This is an '08 Cab. Not quite as fully developed as we might hope, but perfectly enjoyable and a really good accompaniment to the cheese/meat/bread selections for the evening.

Gothberg Farms Goat Cheese, Salumi Meats, Breadfarm Bread

The meat is from Salumi Cured Meats in Seattle. This is the current favorite. It is made with mole, chocolate, cinnamon, ancho and chipotle peppers, and of course, The Pig. OK, so to a Native Texan, what's not to love??? The cheeses chosen are our own, Gothberg Farms Woman of LaMancha and Caprino Romano, both raw milk cheeses aged over one year. The Woman is our 'strongest' cheese. The beautiful rind is an olive oil/smoked paprika cured delight. The Caprino Romano is pure flavor and a season favorite. It is fabulous as a table cheese and also works quite well for cooking or enhancing your favorite foods. The flavors tend to explode when heated, so you should try it if you are lucky enough to be able to find some. Then there is the bread, yes, the bread. The choice is the Miche from the Breadfarm. This is a favorite with pretty much anything but for this meat/cheese/wine board it was perfect! Just the right amount of everything to enhance but not overpower any flavors.

The wine and meats were from our beloved Slough Food in Edison, WA. We love absolutely everything about John and his shop.

So next time the Weather Report is challenging you, come see us in Edison for this fine Friday Finale Supper. We are pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

Making a Pound of Goats' Cheese

2012-01-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

You Need a Barn/Dairy

Any rough ideas what it takes to make a pound of goats' cheese? I get this question quite often. Here are some very general responses, all of which would have to be seriously adjusted for your operation size, scope, scale, location, minimum wage, etc.

1. Must have Drive, Passion, Ambition, Determination, and a love of good food.

2. You need a ship load of cash (&/or credit) because a boat load simply is not enough.

3. You will need a barn/dairy, and dairy goats
(start with at least $100,000 here)

4. You will need a way to milk the goats

Yep, Twice a Day

(start with $2000 here-will depend on the system/size/etc. Can go over $50,000 too.)

5. A way to store/cool/refrigerate the milk ($500 and up, WAY up depending on volume)

6. Feed for the goats (this is about $2 per goat per day and climbing by the week)

7. Labor to make it all happen. This will depend on your area, how many employees, & minimum wage reference for your state. We average about $20/hour here when all the government taxes get added. I sure wish all of that could go to the employees.

8. Add in licenses, inspections, registrations, regulations......

This will get you goat's milk. Current cost of production is about $15 per gallon of milk collected. OK, we do feed quite well and pay our employees well, but we think they all deserve it and are well worth it.

OH, you wanted to make CHEESE!!! Well then.........For starters, it takes about 1 gallon of milk to make one pound of cheese. Ready, Set, GO!

9. Add in your dairy facility and equipment ($50,000 ++++. Depends on your volume and scale)

10. Cheesemaking supplies (about $4000+++ per year-volume dependent)

11. Cheesemaker Labor (yep, $20/hr, area dependent)

Creative Storage

12. Places to store and age the cheese (easily $5000)3

OH, you wanted to SELL the cheese!!!!!!!

13. More regulators, farmers markets, fees, tolls, taxes--hefty bills here.

Love Our Market Customers

14. A vehicle to deliver and go to markets in. Add in fuel, insurance, etc.

15. Employee labor (yep, back to that $20/hr)

16. Farmers markets tent, coolers, table props ($400 minimally)

Even if you are doing the chores and markets yourself, aren't you worth at least what you pay your employees? You are! But sadly, we don't (aka generally can't) pay it that way.

So why do we keep coming back year after year? See Item #1. It is a lifestyle choice we just feel compelled to do.

Goats' Milk Cheeses

So now, you tell me...What is that Pound of Goats' Cheese Worth??

Labor & Delivery Farm Style

2012-01-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

Essential Delivery Supplies

Every Labor and Delivery nurse knows you must have your most needed supplies at hand as you anticipate a delivery. It is no different here on the farm.

Here are the "Frequently Used Items" I keep with me at all times. The clean red feed pail is loaded with these items and hooked over the fence of the pen I am working in. I never have to go far to find what I need. Additionally, my pockets are loaded with both kinds of gloves at all times. I use the short gloves for whatever I may need to do but never go further than about a finger length into the goat. Anytime I go in for any reason, I put a little Betadine scrub on the glove first. The longer gloves are used much less often, but are required anytime you go beyond the cervix. A clean glove is ALWAYS used! Some like J-lube or another variety of lube. Use what you like. I've had excellent outcomes with this. The short (about 18 inches) double snap lead is also essential. I keep one of these in my other pocket. I am frequently alone at kidding (it happens in the middle of the night in rotten weather, right?). With this snap I can quickly secure the doe to a fence if I need her cooperation and she feels otherwise. All does here wear dog-type collars so 'Snap' is pretty easily accomplished.

The Tuck's pads are a comfort measure if there is any tearing or excessive swelling. Use one per doe and be sure to wipe from the inside outward.

Immediate Newborn Supplies/Gothberg Farms

Almost every delivery here is attended. Not all are assisted, but most are witnessed. We do not hesitate to assist if the need arises. Not shown here is a clean feed sack. We cut them open and kids are delivered onto the inside of a clean feed sack whenever possible. When the kid is on the ground, the face/nostrils are quickly wiped with the clean, dry towel. This is to remove birthing secretions we don't want inhaled. A quick pass is made in the mouth with a finger too. This is probably not necessary, but old habits are hard to break. They are towel dried a bit, navels are dipped with Iodine, then they are placed up by Mom. For dipping navels, we use a 35mm film canister. I've recently heard of using the outer plastic coverings from some syringes. This is an excellent idea. Since we have multiple births as a rule here, the doe is generally still down starting to push out the next one (remember we had quintuplets last year!). When she has licked them a bit, we turn the hair dryer on low, let the does sniff it for approval, then crank it up and dry the kid. It takes about 2-3 towels per kid here. Wet towels get cold very fast! Kidding almost always takes place in crummy weather in nw WA. The kid is then placed back up by the doe for more bonding. As soon as the kid is up and the doe is up and looking for her treats, nursing commences. We test annually for CAE here and have been negative for 6 years. Kids would never be allowed to nurse without recent testing results.

The shirt is a newborn sized shirt from the thrift store. If a kid is cold stressed at all, they get a clean shirt to help hold in some heat. This year we are also going to try some small dog blanket coats, I'll let you know how that goes. Be vigilant with the shirts on! The bucks get wet underneath from urine and need frequent changes. Usually a few hours is all that's needed, it at all.

See the box of multi-colored ID bands? We use these with a Sharpie-type marker to note dam name on each kid AT BIRTH. Our kids come out on the big side so we use the longer ones and cut to fit. The color coding by family group really helps.

The dental floss is here just in case we had a navel cord bleeder. Have never needed it, but faithfully keep it in the Labor and Delivery box every year.

Newborn Assistance Feeding

The kids nurse their dam for the immediate newborn period. The does teat is cleared of the protective plug and kids are assisted to the teat as needed. All kids get colostrum within about an hour or less. The printed standard is within 6 hours, so be vigilant. This is a MUST DO! If the kid is too weak to nurse, too many kids, etc. colostrum can be milked directly into the bottle and nippled to the kid. If they cannot suck, we have our ways! The fresh warm colostrum is tubed into them. Tubing can be harmful! Be sure you know how to do this before attempting it yourself.

This is an example of the bottles we prefer and the simple tubing set up.

In addition to this we do a few more things:
1. Each doe gets a bucket of warm water right after kidding along with a handful of raisins & peanuts, and a ration of grain.

2. We keep oral CMPK on hand at all times. We do not hesitate to use it during labor or in the immediate postpartum period if anything is "off" for any reason.

Goat Midwife Attire

Then comes the kidding attire for the midwife. I'm sure you've begun to understand that kidding is a winter activity. You have probably already understood somewhere along the way I am a Texan, born and bred. We don't do cold climates very well. I have evolved a kidding wardrobe like no other! If I am out there sleeping on a straw bale with the cat and a goat, I need all the help I can find! Which leads to a few favorites. The first one is the quilted Roper overalls. I love these and own them in three colors because they are warm, last a long time, and they are long enough for a 6 ft. Texas woman. Another great find is Bogs boots. These are the warmest, most comfortable, cutest boots I have found in a long time. Add to this a full assortment of long underwear of varying degrees of tolerance, a favorite coat with the pockets in the right place, and gloves & hats, you are SET.

Indispensable iPhone

Another useful tool is the iPhone. It serves so many purposes! In addition to the vets office and cell number (OK the MOST useful function), you can surf the web, post to your blog, twitter, Facebook, look up baby names. etc while you wait for babies. Who would have EVER known this?

Joe Zell and kids

Opal & Her Quints

It usually turns out just fine. Be prepared. Do your homework. Talk with experienced goat folks. Feel free to ask questions. We love your comments too. There are so many good ways of doing things. Please share your great finds and techniques if you wish. We love hearing from all of you.

Texas Prison Rodeo

2012-01-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

I came across this post today and boy does it bring back some historical memories! I attended several of these in the 70's. It was an annual event held in October. That also happened to be the wedding anniversary month for said first marriage. We would get tickets each year from the local Sears & Roebuck store in old downtown Beaumont for this as a mutual present for a few years. Laughing now as I even remember we wanted Section Q-right above the bull chutes! The riders were more fearless than most rodeos. No one was ever seriously hurt when we were there. The announcers were really funny with quips such as "That's OK Red, you got another 99 years to try!"

Well, the rodeo outlasted the marriage. Maybe I had another 99 years to try!

Here is post about the rodeo: http://www.tmdailypost.com/article/crime/look-back-texas-prison-rodeo

Thanks "I Love Texas" for posting this piece!

Veterinary Care on the Farm

2012-01-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

If you have animals, you need a working relationship with a vet. Period. It is important you establish this relationship before you NEED them in a crisis or emergency. Yes, they will probably help your animal in any time of need, but the more they know about you, your farm, your management style, your philosophy, etc. the better job they can do for your animal. This extends to your household or farm pets as well as your livestock.

Dr. Peter Brown at Gothberg Farms

We are lucky here to have Chuckanut Valley Veterinary Clinic, a good sized vet clinic that maintains a large animal component. They still make farm calls. In some parts of the country, you are not so lucky. In that case, you probably need to keep a trailer or at least a truck with a camper shell (if you have an animal small enough to fit in one) for transport in a time of need. Along this line, you also need a plan for euthanasia should the unfortunate and awful happen on your farm, with no other resource to call upon.

On our farm, we have an annual "Well Goat Check" every January. Our vet comes out, sees the whole herd, looks at the list we have prepared for questions, evaluates & recommends on feeds, sanitation, medications, assesses for pregnancies, and draws our blood from each animal for CAE testing. (More on CAE in a post coming soon-we have been negative for 6 years now.) Yes, of course, we could easily draw our own blood and send it off to WSU for testing. But this is a really good way to see, touch, think about, and evaluate each goat with the vet. It helps him formulate his best treatments based on our philosophy. He knows we fall more into "pet" than strictly livestock as a business. Again, this is good information. By now, from years of working with us, even the vet knows some of them by name. He still laughs at some of our chosen names though. We know every vet in the clinic. Most are on a first name basis. They treat us as colleagues, never condescending, always respectful. We share and discuss research and trends. The nurse in me loves this part.

Competent, qualified care is not free. Nor should it be. But at the end of the year, if I take my total vet expenditures and divide it by the total number of animals I have, the cost is reasonable. We simply would not go without it.

And with all of this comes the peace of mind that when we need them, they will come. Period. If you don't have this relationship and have an emergency on your farm at 3am on a snowy Christmas eve, would they come for you? Here, I have every confidence they would be here for us. I don't need them often, but when I do, they come. My animals, my crew, and myself all send a big Thank You to our vets and their staff.

Anacortes Winter Market

2012-01-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, January 14, 2012 will be the first Winter market of the season. We will be at the Depot Arts Center, both inside and out. Hours are 9am-2pm. We will have markets monthly until full opening in Spring.

I know for sure produce will be there from Frog Song Farm (I've already place a pre-order!) and I know for sure Goat Cheese will be there. This is a great start. There will be so much more.

So come on out. Stock up for the month. Meet & Greet with your friends. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Cheesemaking Shortcourse in Mt. Vernon, WA

2012-01-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

Chèvre!

We are so lucky this year to have the Cheesemaking Shortcourse offered in Mt. Vernon WA. This is an excellent course for those serious about making cheese! Every topic is relevant, the speakers are extremely knowledgable, and the connections you make within the class will probably be helpful to you for many years to come!

This is where I got my start folks. So, yes, you 'can' attend a short course, add in plenty of passion, hard work, hours and hours of practice and learning-and you too can dedicate your life to cheese! Not so bad if you ask me.

It is also a great course to take even if your goal is home cheesemaking. Being more informed, knowing what to do, where to get supplies, learning what to strive for....all are important as a food producer of any kind!

I think miraculously there may be a few seats left, so if you are considering this offering, I would not hesitate long.
http://public.wsu.edu/~creamery/basicplus.htm

Farm Stand Open Jan. 7, 2012

2012-01-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

We will be open tomorrow Saturday, January 7, 2012 from 10am-2pm.

Winter has been mild & treating us kindly so far. Come on out for your goat cheeses.

If the sign is out, We are Open

Hope to see you.

More on Dairy Goat "Correctness"

2012-01-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I posted about the importance of correctness in any dairy goat. I gave you my opinions about why I think it is important. Here I want to share a few stunning LaManchas with you. Lucky Star Farm (www.luckystarfarm.com) is a nationally recognized breeder of very high quality LaManchas. Yes, they happen to be part of the core foundation of our herd (Happily I might add!). If you feel so inclined, look through the goats on their site. They are a fine example of what a well-bred, well-managed dairy goat looks like. I know there are comparably beautiful goats of every breed out there. I am sharing this as "an" example of quality to look for and strive for in your own herds.

What pictures don't show is milk quality and palatability. Well, I guess you will just have to taste our cheese to verify that one.

Selections from Gothberg Farms

Wine Wednesday

2012-01-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

We have come to look forward to Wine Wednesday around here. It is a day of discovery and trying new combinations, and very often new foods and wines altogether. Today is some of all of it.

The selected wine is Kestrel Vintners 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a full bodied, very berry, delicious tasting wine. The berry flavor lingers long and lavish on the palate. It combined well with everything on the board tonight. Add to that the new swanky wine glasses from beloved grown kids, and the flavor was further enhanced.

For the tasty treats, we literally combined what was left from the Holidays and then selected a cheese we thought might be a good match. Bingo!! We hit a home run tonight! Being more inclined to veggies and tap water to make the Levi's fit a little more comfortably this week, this is saying a LOT!

The cured meats were perfect. We chose Salumi from our beloved Slough Food. This was a first time to try the Mole, Chile, Cinnamon-----and I assure you it will not be the last. I thought the spicy paprika was the winner--well, it is great, but the mole spicy, well it just fits the taste buds. We also included a meat selection from Fra' Mani. They are in Berkeley, CA. Their founder, chef Paul Bertolli, apparently knows his stuff. Fra' Mani apparently means "Between or among hands"--We LOVE that. This guy has a zeal for handcrafted food made in Old World traditions. Uh, yes, apparently so. And as if that isn't enough, he seeks out responsible pig growers too! This is my favorite part. He links to his 4 farmers on his web site. Trust me, these are NOT McDonald's suppliers. We loved his meats even BEFORE we knew & respected him and his standards. They so perfectly fit our style and standards here on the farm.

Interspersed every few bites we had Marcona Almonds. These were just discovered this year at our most favorite store, Metropolitan Market. These are referred to as the "Queen of Almonds". They are sweeter, fatter, and rounder than their California cousins. Most come from the Valencia or Alicante regions of Spain. They are typically roasted in extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. I'm telling you now, they make ANYTHING better. We have used them in so many ways since the discovery. You may just find yourself scarfing them in solo not so infrequently (is there a camera in my house?). A version of them is also available locally at, you got it, Slough Food.

Ok, the cheese. No meal, snack, discussion, party, or self-indulgence should be without CHEESE! For this board, we chose the Raw Milk Caprino Romano (aged just over a year). If you are not familiar with Caprino Romano, that's because there is just not a lot of it here in the US. You may know it as Pecorino (sheeps' milk), or Romano (cows' milk), but the Caprino means Goat. This was my first choice for a raw milk cheese upon my return from Italy in 2008. It is a keeper-thank you Italy and a lot of other factors. You may not often consider this as a table cheese, but do not be fooled. This one IS! It paired perfectly with the wine and each meat selection. And when you cook with this cheese, oh baby, you unleash the beast. Flavors kind of explode when heated.

Enough of this long post. Time to refill the glasses..... ENJOY!

Assessing a Goat's Back-Side Structure

2012-01-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a good article, timely with kidding fast approaching, if not already started for you. This is an easy to understand article on the importance of good structure for our hard working girls. Some of you say, "Oh, but I don't show, so it does not matter." Well, yes, in fact, it does matter. I don't show either but I learned early on that what makes a good show goat makes a good dairy goat. We all need good structure, strong, healthy feet & legs, capacious, well-attached udders, wide, deep rib cages for increased oxygen exchange, strong shoulders for enhanced ambulation, and I do love a beautiful head on a goat. In my mind, this may translate to strong jaws for lots of hay eating, wide, clear eyes for better vision. I also happen to enjoy the look of the long, elegant females. Then we get down to personal preferences, for which the choices are almost limitless. I just don't compromise on milk quality and quantity. It is possible to have degrees of the best in all of them. Happy Kidding!

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issues/89/89-2/understanding_good_rump_structure_in_a_dairy_goat.html

One More Decision Factor...

So, keep these traits in mind as you begin kidding and deciding what to keep as herd replacements. Also, if you have weak areas, begin looking for bucks who may be able to help "fix" areas. All good breeders will be able to assist you with these decisions. This is an excellent time of year to pick your new Jr. Herdsire for next year.

Thanks to Dairy Goat Journal and 3 Eagles Ranch Nubians & Boers for helping me find this! I love our information sharing out here in cyber world. I am convinced it makes us all a little bit better.

Thank you for taking the time to read this so we may all "Promote the Goat" for better health & longevity.

Working Women

Pre-Kidding Checklist

2012-01-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

Most of you know this stuff. it is important to remember to do it.

1. Assess each doe for body condition. Make corrections if you have time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2ppHAUbLYY&feature=youtu.be

This short video that may help here.

2. Be sure vaccines/injections/dewormers are up to date. We use CDT and BoSe here.

Assess Often

3. Be sure hoofs are trimmed. We do not trim in last month of pregnancy. But if you have neglected this, do it. Just be careful! The does get unwieldy on 3 legs. Be careful. Avoid falls and injuries.

4. Clip udders and teats as the udders begin filling. We also do an "OB CLIP" of the tail area to minimize afterbirth goo after delivery.

5. Be sure your OB supplies are well stocked. Nothing as frustrating as realizing at 3am you don't have iodine for navel dipping or long gloves for an assisted delivery. Get your orders in NOW.

6. Also remember to have CMPK drench on hand for late-pregnancy, early postpartum needs.

7. Stock your own freezer with kidding food for yourself. Fuel for the caregiver is very important. Those long, cold, miserable nights will go so much better with nutritious 'home food'.

Food Matters

8. Rest Up! You know this won't last long.

Position Opening: Cheesemaker

2011-12-30T13:41:00.000-08:00

New Year, New Opportunities:
We currently have a part-time, seasonal position open for a Cheesemaker. Experience preferred. Contact Rhonda for more information.
email: rhonda@gothbergfarms.com

We will post updated details soon.

New Year's Eve 2012

2011-12-29T04:33:00.000-08:00

We will be open here at the farm stand on Saturday, December 31st, from 10am-2pm for cheese sales.

Maybe the Snow Geese Will Be Close

If you have special requests it is very helpful if you can call ahead so we can have them ready. Don't forget you can also purchase cheeses by the wheel (they range in size from 1 to 5-ish pounds). Pricers vary depending on type of cheese and how long it is aged (after all a 3 year gouda does have to pay rent!).

Wishing all of you a healthy, safe, cheese filled New Year. Thank you for your support.

Maybe the "Girls" Will Come Out & Greet You

Wine Wednesday

2011-12-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

If you have been following along, you know I had an awesome cheese sampling at Metropolitan Market-Admiral Store last week. When I go there, I fall in love every time. The customers, the staff, and then...when I am done working...the STORE!!! I promise you we have nothing to compare in Skagit County. So, what is girl to do? Of course, she must shop the perimeter of the store quickly before the long, dark drive home. And, being the girl she is, and the shopper she is, of course, cheese gets a prominent place in the cart. In the store, it felt like a "few" interesting choices. When I got home and spread them out.......they had multiplied. Not to worry, a cheese girl cannot have too many selections.

Met Market Cheese Delights

The basil leaf topped cheeses are the house made mozarella from them. I always bring us farm girls home a treat when I can!

So now to get to the selections & pairings for this evening. The wine chosen is Sharecroppers, from Sunnyside WA. We have had this wine before and found it pleasant. It is found with our favorite at Slough Food in Edison (and other places to be sure). The cheeses selected are:

#1 12 Month Raw Manchego Sheeps' milk

#2 Rodin Pasteurized Sheeps' Milk

#3 Woman of LaMancha Raw Goats' Milk

The crackers are Gothberg Farms Olive Oil crackers. The dessert to the left is our Lemon chèvre Cheesecake. So at this point, I tell Hubby "Dinner is done!". He is such a lucky man and doesn't even realize it!

Cheese #1-Raw Manchego: This is a delicious cheese. Sweet, nutty, & mild. Also a tad on the dry side. The wine was a bit too tart for this cheese.

Pretty Rind Manchego

Cheese #2 The Mold ripened Pasteurized Sheeps' milk cheese: This cheese has a lovely aroma from the rind. There are numerous eye holes. It is sweetly pungent. The wine brings out the full flavor of both the cheese and the wine. Good choice for pairing.

Cheese #3 The Woman of LaMancha: The cheese has a closed texture surrounded by a smoked paprika rind. It is full flavored and quite creamy. It has a unique tartness that speaks "quality milk". It pairs nicely with the wine, not overpowering for either of them.

The Gothberg Farms Olive Oil Crackers were a perfect compliment to all of the cheeses. They were each sampled alone & then with the crackers. These crackers have just the perfect crumb & saltiness for all of the selected cheeses. Each cheese experienced flavor enhancement with the crackers as opposed to just the cheese by itself. Considerable testing has gone into these crackers to have them deliver just these characteristics(sic).

And then the cheesecake. Oh YES, the cheesecake. It was the perfect palate transition. This cheesecake blends well with all of the selected cheeses. However, I do recommend finishing off the wine before the cheesecake. A small snifter of Limoncello is the perfect finish!

Lemon Chèvre Cheesecake

Chèvre Cheesecakes and Goat Cheese Lasagna

2011-12-13T13:37:00.000-08:00

Berries NOT Included

We are accepting special orders for our Lemon Chèvre Cheesecakes, Orange-Amaretto Cheesecakes, and our 5 Goat Cheese Lasagna through December 18, 2011. Call or contact us SOON to get your orders in for pick up before Christmas.

Cheesecake Tartlets

The cheesecakes in come in tartlet or 8 inch sizes. The lasagna is made to feed about 2, 4, or appx. 10 people sizes. Requests honored.

Cheese Week December 13, 2011

2011-12-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

While the goats are winding down their milk production for the year, we continue with many exciting and fun cheese opportunities. We are blessed with so many customer partners in the PNW. Of course our world tends to involve really good food, and that is a good thing. The last batch of chèvre will go out today for Metropolitan Markets. This is always a bittersweet kind of milestone each year. We (all of us girls, including the goats) look forward to the change of pace, but long for the days of summer and chèvre.

Cheese Please!

Thursday December 15th, 4-7pm
We will be at Metropolitan Market in Kirkland sampling cheeses to perfectly compliment ANY holiday cheese platter. There is also a complimentary wine tasting going on at the same time, so come on out and see what treats you can find for your Holiday Cheer.

Saturday December 17th, 10am-3pm
We will be at the final market for the year at the Bellingham Farmers Market from 10am-3pm. Debbie will have an abundant table stocked and ready for your Holiday Cheer needs there as well.

Saturday December 17th, 10am-2pm
We will be here at the Farm Stand with all the great choices as well. We also have a rather large 4-H group coming at 1:00PM, so you are forewarned.

Simple Pleasures

Goat Stats December 2011

2011-12-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

Today is a monumental day on the farm. As of today, we will only be milking once a day!!!! WooHoo!!! The goats are ready and Debbie and I are surely happy to oblige. It is a time for us to get some semblance of 'normal' in our lives. We have learned to enjoy every moment of it, because the new kids begin arriving about Valentine's Day. But for now: supper, sleep, dates, appointments, cleaning, barn chores, painting, mending, well you get the idea.

We are finishing up the milking year with some healthy, happy goats. Keep in mind our goats are LaManchas. They are a dairy breed. They are known for their awesome personalities and the sweetest, best milk ever tasted (well, IMHO). We have been at this just about long enough to see improvements in the herd from year to year. That said, our foundation stock continue to produce quite well. Just a few of the stats from our last DHIA test:
Doe Lactation Number # Milk Days In Milk
Topaz #3 3440 276
Opal #4 3030 302
Pearl #5 3050 298
Zuppa #2 2510 259
Zippy #1 2020 261
Zora #2 2810 299
Ditto #5 4880 610

Ten of the does have Milk Equivalents (ME) over 3000#
One has a ME over 4000# (That would be Topaz)

And remember, we only milked 20 this year. Others are ending the year very close and some will easily make this next year. Sure, we are proud of them. But more than that, we marvel at them every day. They graciously give 110% every single day, year after year. Their milk is like melted ice cream. They are some of life's best companions. They are treated very well, and we genuinely love each of them for who they are.

Cheese Weekend December 3, 2011

2011-11-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

The fun just seems to go on and on! How lucky are we?

Three (yes, 3) great chances to find us this weekend. We will be at the annual awesome event in Anacortes at Compass Wines from 11am-5pm for the new release of ded. reckoning and the other vintners and fine food folks that will be there. This is I think our 6th year to do this with them. It is never disappointing. Some really nice wine tastings and special pricing all day.

Debbie will again be your host at the Bellingham Farmers Market from 10am-3pm. She will be outside in about the usual space. Some of you have pre-orders, and she's on it! So come on out, don't make her turn into a cheese-sicle for nothing.

And the Farm Stand is open here at the farm from 10am-2pm.

Whew! That's kind of a busy schedule for us for this time of year. Thank those lovely goat girls for us too will ya? The first credit goes to them-every time!

Texas Girl Goats

2011-11-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

All of our goats are registered with the American Dairy Goat Association. They are all of the breed LaMancha. We have been caretakers for these magnificent animals for about 8-9 years now (meaning in the big scheme of goat breeders, we are neophytes). Every so often I look on the ADGA website and see what stats might be out there on them. I know in a day to day, week to week, and year to year basis that they are great girls, giving 110% every day of their life, but sometimes I stop to reflect on how they "measure up" to others in the registry. Now in no way do I mean to imply they are super, above all others, or anything remotely near that. I have some awesome mentors out there who have forgotten way more than I will ever know. What I do find, is the girls hold their own. I am proud of them every day. When I look them up, I feel a few words of recognition are earned.

Working Moms

Samson

Today is one of those days.

We have 4 does on the Elite Doe list: Zia, Opal, Topaz, & Victoria. Elite doe status is awarded to does in the top 5% of their breed category.

Opal & Her Quints

We have 13 (of our 20 milkers) with their Superior Genetics ratings: Joe Zell, Zia, Pearl, Wynona, Ditto, Opal, Zanna, Eliza, Naomi, Topaz, Yasmin, Zuppa, & Victoria. Superior Genetics is awarded to does in the top 15% of their breed category.

And one of our bucks: Samson has his +*B-also an excellent rating. Samson is not our breeding, so thank you Just As I Am for him!

This does not just happen. We participate in DHIA milk test annually and have linear appraisal done on our animals every 2 years. We are as committed to the quality of our animals as we are to the quality of our cheeses. It all goes hand in hand.

Cheese Weekend November 19-20, 2011

2011-11-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving-one of my favorites! Hopefully most of you are "Eating Local" for all you can. We certainly have abundance in our area. Remember, ask for ideas if you want suggestions.

You will find us, our cheeses, our cheesecakes, cookies, crackers.......at:

Anacortes Farmers Market Holiday Market:
Saturday AND Sunday 10am-4pm At the Port Warehouse (at the end of Commercial Avenue-out over the water) and inside!!

Bellingham Farmers Market:
Saturday 10am-3pm We are outside, under the shed.

Gothberg Farms on-Farm Stand:
Saturday 10am-2pm

You can also place your orders for full size chèvre cheesecakes for just-in-time Thanksgiving pick up here at the farm.

We are already accepting orders for our Goat Cheese Lasagna for Christmas too. Order early. Quantities limited.

Grandmothers

2011-11-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

We all get two of them. Some of us are lucky enough to really get to share our lives with them. I am one of the lucky ones. My parents never strayed far from home, so I was lucky enough to grow up in the same town as both of my Grandmothers. We all lived in Beaumont, Texas and my relationship with them spanned the 1950's through the 1990's. Now I rarely would have defined Beaumont and "Lucky" in the same sentence. There were a lot of reasons I chose to stray myself. I remain grateful for the opportunities I have had since leaving so long ago, but there are a few regrets-all involving family ties.

I've shared before about NanNaw Zell-that beloved lady who influenced some good onto this rowdy spirit of mine.

But "Lucky" I am. My paternal Grandmother Granny Nannie-was also important to me. I had the esteemed position of 'oldest' grandchild, even though there were older cousins far away in California. Their father had strayed. I get it.

Her real name is Nannie Griggs. She grew up in deep East Texas (Newton County). Her family started in Texas before it was really Texas. They had a land grant of some sort comprising 8000 acres, and 40 acres of that original plat is still in the family. They had the grist mill, the saw mill, and all else required for taming the wilds of the Texas woods.

October 2011

Nannie left the farm for the city. I never knew my real Grandfather, only her second husband. Nannie was an accomplished seamstress. This she passed to me. The summer before 6th grade, I made my entire wardrobe!! I don't sew at all anymore. Shame on me. She worked in town at Shepherd's Laundry where she embroidered name badges and sewed uniforms. It would be classified as a sweat shop by today's standards, I am sure. I recall this building just as I found it in October 2011. When she worked there we would sometimes pick her up from work. All of these windows would be open and no air conditioning. It is a really hot place, not to mention machinery and steam presses working. I never recall her complaining. She also 'took in' sewing for others. She crocheted and tatted too. And she always had her little vegetable garden patch too. Just goes to prove you can't take the country out of the girl I guess. She also dipped snuff. I recall her being able to hit her little spit can from across the room, and never miss! She enjoyed a little nip in her egg nog at Christmas. I wish I had known more of her stories. She was no push over, be assured. She lived a hard enough life, but much easier than some of her counterparts of the times. Another strong Texas woman of pioneer stock who knew how to work hard and how to survive and how to be a part of the family. For all of this, I thank her.

October 2011

Farmers Markets Authenticity

2011-11-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

A discussion came up today in the cheese room. It has come up many times before in many different settings. Still, it nags at me.

When you shop at a farmers market, and buy from a known local producer, do you "assume" that everything on their table is from them, produced or grown by them, and represents only their farm/operation? That is of course, unless they have clearly labeled it otherwise? How do you feel about the produce person who may supplement their table with other locally grown items, but not told you? Do you automatically assume they grew all of it themselves? Not picking on produce here, just an example. Another example might be who really actually produced all that honey in that jar? Who really actually milked that animal that gave the milk for that bottle of milk or hunk of cheese? Or who actually grew that animal for meat? And from what point, birth, or purchased to "finish off" just prior to marketing?

This is not finger pointing, as I know of very little of this going on, but it does happen. One thought is a) it is deceptive and not right b) one thought is that it is the buyers duty not to assume and ask c) one is that no one really cares.

Where are you on this one?

Wine Wednesday 4

2011-11-09T18:27:00.000-08:00

Funny how we are coming to look forward to Wednesday now! The planning is almost as fun as the enjoying.

For this week we have decided it might be fun to be a little Italy-nostalgic. Rhonda was there in 2008 for Slow Food Terra Madre, just about this time of year. It was trip of a lifetime. This Beaumont TX girl never quite imagined being in Italy! Heck, she was far from home and out of place in Connecticut! That is another story.

For tonight, we traveled only as far as our Slough Food in Edison for the wine. We chose the Langhe Rosso. It is a beautiful color in the glass. It is quite good with the cheeses we have chosen.

Italy Nostalgia

These are all cheeses we make here at the farm with our milk. The foreground is our Raw Milk Caprino Romano with Cracked Pepper rind. It is almost sweet, but bursts with flavor when grated over pasta. It is quite good on a cheese plate as well. The middle one is our Raw Milk Parmesan. It is sweet, flavorful, mild, and easy to eat!! Because our milk is so rich and mild, our cheeses never get the flaky, crumbly texture. Over time, the flavors intensify and jump to the front of the line. We live with that. It's worth it. Both of these are aged over a year.

The third cheese is our Delizia della Tavola. This is a cheese we developed to mimic a delicious and memorable cheese we had for lunch in Italy. This is not the same at all, just an approximation that evokes the memories every time! The name means "Delight of the Table". Thank you Silvio (our esteemed Italian friend) for the superb name. The cheese itself is sweet, mild, almost buttery. The rind is cured with olive oil and rubbed with basil, rosemary, savory, and sage. We don't have tons of it, but when it is available, you should plan a picnic and go with it. Of course this time year in the Pacific Northwest, that may mean in front of your fireplace.....but heck, don't pass up the opportunity.

These cheeses all paired well with the wine. Then, a lightbulb went off and Rhonda remembered a cheese she had in the fridge (also from Slough Food). It was also quite good with this array. It is Pecorino Toscano, a sheeps' milk cheese from Tuscany which has pistachios in it. OK, so what is not to like here?

Olive Oil Crackers

Polenta Ricotta Cookies

All enjoyed nicely with our own Olive Oil Crackers. Yes, we do indeed make these right here, on site. Whole wheat and semolina flour. We experimented to get just the right crumb for our own cheeses. These are available at most farmers markets.

Not to be overlooked, is the 'dessert'. This would be (again) our own Polenta Ricotta Cookies. This has become a staple favorite. Well, it is a toss up some days whether to have the cookies or the Lemon Chèvre Cheesecake????/Hmmmm......life is full of really good choices.

Life here on the farm is ever blessed. We take great blessings from the idea that we will likely never starve. Knowing how, and genuinely loving, producing our own food is an immensely important part of life here. Thanks to the goats, the land, and all who participate in lovingly bringing us, and you, these foods.

Treats & Eats Sunday

2011-10-31T19:34:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening was a fun and special time. We Gothberg Girls (ok, us and a few others) got together here at the farm for a night of cheese and get together. The invitation was to come of course, but everyone was to bring a cheese and something to accompany it. We sure ended up with a diverse and delicious collection. This was a fun way to try and learn some new cheeses. The accompaniments were pretty great too. I hope we repeat this one some day.

A Feast of Cheese

Farm Stand Open October 29th-Christmas

2011-10-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Most of you know we don't have an actual "Farm Store" but more like a farm stand on a limited & seasonal basis. This is due to the nature of farm work, especially on such a small farm as ours. The goats are milked twice each day & their health & well-being are assessed & evaluated many times a day. Cheese is made 4-5 days a week, with cheese/cheese room/cheese ageing duties 7 days a week. Add in packing, wrapping, marketing, distribution, farmers markets.....I think you are probably getting a general idea. We just don't have the "free" time to make it happen any more often.

That said, we do love it when we get to be open. It is a good time to find our cheese off-season from most of the farmers markets, but more than anything it is a good time to come talk about the farm in a more relaxed atmosphere. You get to see the goats (but not touch them). You are able to ask us any questions you may have.

Our hours are 10am-2pm. We have considered going to 4pm, but that starts to push almost to milking time. We will see what your response is this year and reevaluate if need be.

So, plan your "Edison loop" this weekend and stop by. Also in our area is Samish Bay Cheese (organic cow), Golden Glen Creamery (cow), Slough Foods (awesome Mediterranean grocery store), Breadfarm (OK, just the best!), a host of eateries, and of course some of the most beautiful farm scenery just about anywhere.

Special orders gladly accepted. We are happy to assist you with your cheese serving ideas and party plans with CHEESE!!

Wine Wednesday 3

2011-10-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

The weather in the Pacific Northwest has gone from late summer, to cool, sunny & crisp, to "coastal mist" cooler & gray-in about 12 hours. We are running high 40's to 50's each day-not my favorite season would be putting it mildly. We have already hit the 30's & our day length is shortened by over 5 hours a day already. UGH! I know what is just around the corner, and I don't just mean kidding season. So, with this change in the weather, I could not resist tonight's choice of wine "Weather Report" from Peter's Cellars in Mattawa, WA. We had the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a ripe, plush Cab. The tannins are soft and smooth. It is a very approachable wine, yet full-bodied. It is easily drinkable, enjoyable, and was able to carry some pretty diverse and delicious flavors as well. I am very pleased with this value priced wine. It is available at Slough Food in Edison WA.

Caerphilly, Ewephoria, Salumi, & Breadfarm too!

But of course, the wine alone does not do justice to the #winewednesday. We do have our personal favorites we like to pair with. Tonight's choices with this wine are: our own Gothberg Farms goats' milk Caerphilly, just sharp enough to add character. We matched it up with Ewephoria, a most delightful, sweet, almost dessert-like sheeps' milk gouda from Friesland, Holland. The two were a great compliment. We added in a little charcuterie from Salumi Meats in Seattle. For this match we chose the spicy paprika blend. The paprika added just the right amount of spunk for this wine which carried all of them beautifully. Breadfarm baguette was the perfect accompaniment for all. A few Marcona almonds from Spain-and dinner was pretty much complete at appetizer!!!

And how lucky are we here in Bow/Edison?? The wine, meat, almonds, Ewephoria-all from our beloved Slough Food. Then, right next door, the Breadfarm. And the Caerphilly, right from our own cheese cooler. Come check us all out!!! Great tastes await.

Wine & Cheese Tasting November 5, 2011

2011-10-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

Save the Date! Program your phone reminders! Mark your calendars!

November 5, 2011

2:00 PM-5:00 PM

Cost: TBA (but it will be very reasonable)

We are having our first wine and cheese tasting with our friends at Purple Smile Wines in Bellingham. This is sure to be lots of fun and a great introduction to more great wines and incredible cheeses. There will be about 7 wines to choose among and 5-6 of our goat cheeses. UMMMMM............

So head on out that day to the Farmers Market, do you shopping for the week, and top off the day with a visit to your favorite local wine shop.

Wine Wednesday 2

2011-10-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

Whoa Nellie!!! This week has outdone itself!!! Absolutely everything was awesome! And easy!

We started with a great Fall afternoon treat. I sliced Breadfarm baguette on the diagonal and sprinkled it with our Goats' Milk Cheddar (I grated it, slices may have been better, and certainly easier). I topped that with sliced, peeled apples from my own tree and thinly sliced beets from my own garden. I topped that with a bit more of our Cheddar. Then I baked it at 350-400 degrees til browned on top. This was really tasty and was so representative of Fall here on the goat farm.

The Prep

The Pre-Cook

Oh Yum! Baked & Done.

And then for the wine selection. Tonight we chose Purple Star Syrah 2008 from the Columbia Valley, WA. This wine is full bodied & slightly spicy. It brings to mind soft, ripe fruit (so what is not to love about that?). It is a very friendly, drinkable, enjoyable Syrah. And an even greater bonus to be had! 15% of proceeds of this wine go to Seattle Children's Hospital uncompensated care fund. I have 3-5 really good reasons for this to be appreciated. So go on over to our beloved John at Slough Food and try this one!

And I am sure you know by now Purple will always win with us!!!

And then, with nice wine and delicious treats, dinner evolved.

This was Eggplant Parmesan (our own from Gothberg Farms of course!), broccoli from our garden, beans & eggplant from the farmers market. Yes indeed it was a good food evening.

Wine Wednesday

2011-10-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

After several mild suggestions to add recipes to our pages, I have decided to take another approach. I do love to cook, I do love to share recipes. But let's face it, that takes a significant time commitment. I'm good for that, but not so much right now. It did start me thinking about what I might really enjoy pursuing and sharing here. Inspired by the Twitter folks, here is my less than professional opinion on wines, cheeses, beers, ciders, charcuterie, and all things associated that I enjoy. I will make an effort here to be "regular" in posting a #WineWednesday enjoyment. Cheeses will naturally have a focus on our cheeses, but will certainly not be exclusive. I enjoy many cheeses, not just ours. Most of the wines will come from our neighbors store, Slough Foods. There will likely be occasional deviations, but always locally accessible and often locally produced.

Enough of the background thoughts. On with our first selection. For the wine, Alianca Vinho Verde. This is a light, crisp white wine from Portugal. It is a perfect summer wine. I just discovered this gem this summer and am having it tonight as a final toast to the summer that almost wasn't. I am not ready for it to end, but with flannel shirt on for milking tonight, I must concede. This wine pairs beautifully with fresh cracked crab, fresh oysters, and our chevre. It is lovely with fresh garden tomatoes, chives, & cucumbers. I highly recommend Taylor Shellfish Farms for your shellfish desires. Pair the shellfish with the chevre, the wine, and a hunk of crusty Breadfarm bread, and life is just pretty dang good! This wine is also a great value, so go see John at Slough Foods and toast one last glass to summer!

Find Our Cheese!

2011-09-19T18:53:00.001-07:00

We are trying something new for helping our fans and customers to be able to more easily find our cheeses. Below is a map showcasing where our cheeses can be found. Included are our farm stand (yellow), farmers' markets (purple), retail locations (pink), and featured restaurants (aqua). Also, any upcoming special events are noted with a lime green push pin. Below the map is a link to open the map up larger.

View Gothberg Farms Availability in a larger map

**Note: There is a known issue with Google Map pins showing up in Internet Explorer. Google engineers are aware of the bug and are working to fix it. In the meantime, you can open the map using another browser: Safari, Firefox, Chrome, etc. . Also, even if you can't see the pins, if you open it up in Explorer, you can still see the locations listed on the left side of your screen. Sorry for the inconvenience

Farm Stand and Fall Happenings

2011-09-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of the Farm Stand on Thursday & Friday. We need a break to get some chores accomplished and time to plan and shift some gears here.

We will begin the Farm Stand again Saturday, October 29th, from 10am-2pm. We will continue with every Saturday throughout the Winter. More on the cheese/baking/entree offerings in a later post.

The farm is shifting into Fall routine now. Does are coming into heat, breeding list is completed and posted. Honeymoon suites have begun. This is how we get next years' milk supply. Additionally, there are fences to mend, painting to catch up on, winter feeds to procure, sand & gravel to refresh, drainage to route, gardens to weed, food to preserve......you get the general idea I am sure.

Farmers markets are winding down. Everett for 2 more weeks and Anacortes for 5 more weeks. Bellingham will continue as long as it remains feasible-probably until early-to-mid December.

This time of year also brings lots of fun Fall cheese tasting & presentation events. We kicked it off with West Coast Kneading Conference this week. Wow! 250 bakers in one place....happy time.

We have some new best friends at Fat Cork Champagnes in Seattle. We will be doing a champagne & cheese pairing next week. There may still be seats left, but not many, so sign up now if interested. The champagnes are all from grower/producers, which means they grow their own grapes, make their own wines, and generally follow our same philosophy of providing good, responsibly produced food for our valued friends.
http://fatcork.com/t/Champagne%20&%20Goat%20Cheese/

We will be participating fully in the annual "For the Love of Cheese" festival at the Metropolitan Markets in Seattle. Stay tuned for more details. This is always so well presented and well attended. We are just proud to be a part of it all. This kicks off September 28th.

Our cheese will be double represented at the annual Skagitonians to Preserve Farmlands dinner & auction. These folks are all about keeping Skagit rural AND farming!!! I appreciate their good work.

Bitters Co. will have their 4th annual farm dinner Oct. 1. Again, we have been featured on the menu. These awesome sisters invite us farmers to this dinner, celebrating us and our hard work. Thanks to all who attend. I meet such a diverse group here every year. The setting is phenomenal, the food delectable featuring Skagits' best, and an overall fantastic evening for everyone!!!

We will then move on into Thanksgiving and the annual wine debut party at Compass Wines.

There is more I could share, but you are probably getting the idea we get busy even now. Thank you for another year of support and friendship.

Join Us!!

2011-08-09T12:14:00.001-07:00

[Click to enlarge]

Farm Party: Save the Date

2011-07-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

Save the date: August 28, 2011

Farm Party!!!!! Come help us celebrate our 7th (YES! Seven!) Year Cheese Anniversary!!!

Food by Adrift, Fun for Us!

Time, cost, final menu, and more details to follow soon.
But you know it will include excellent local food, beer by Boundary Bay, and cheese (of course).

Cheesemakers, Camaraderie, "Competition", and Confusion

2011-07-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

When you are a cheesemaker, a goat milker, or a woman of agriculture in any capacity-you have a pretty small peer group. As a general rule this is perfectly fine because those you do have in your circle are such awesome folks, you can't imagine your life being much richer. We all thrive on the quality we produce, the community we feed, the animals we love, and our supportive customers who prop us up in so many ways.

Recently I was interviewed at length by a WSU accounting student for her final project. She was amazed at my attitude of not seeing my local cheesemakers as competition but as as enhancements to our overall community and food system. She was just sure I might see them as "threats", but I don't. I know I am not able to feed everyone-heck-none of us can. I think it is awesome we can offer so many LOCAL choices here to our eaters. We are all unique, we all work hard, we all do our best.

There is the rare occasion of someone with a very different outlook and approach to mine. They tend to make it ugly and unattractive. Thankfully they are the rarity.

To ALL of my fellow cheesemakers-God Bless Us All! We, along with our animals, give our all to feed you the most delicious, nutritious, responsibly produced food we know how to do.

Thank You for your loyalty and continued support.

New Farm Store Hours

2011-07-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

Beginning July 28, 2011 we will be open for cheese sales at our farm stand from 10am-2pm every Thursday and Friday. Hope to see some of you!

We will no longer be at the Oak Harbor Public Market.

Giant Marshmallows

2011-06-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

June 2011

We finally got the chance to cut the hay field for the first time this season!!! JUNE!!! It has been such a late year with too much rain and too cold weather. We fortunately got 55 giant marshmallows (aka haylage) in this cutting (about 18 acres). This will go to feed beef cattle locally.

Had the field man out from agronomy center today making recommendations and assessing the grass. It is generally healthy, just needs a little nourishment. And some HEAT would be good. We have not yet hit 70 degrees here this year.

Last year we we had too little rain on the new seed but it did grow anyway. The weed load was heavy in spots, but we were able to eradicate them with frequent mowing. No pesticides and no herbicides.

We work with local farmers on projects like this. We do not have the skill or equipment for planting or haying, but gladly work with those who do. We have the land. Our "hay guy" Charlie, is so good to work with over the years now. Our way of supporting a young farmer and also feeding our goats and his cattle. Love win:win. This way of life has a way of bringing really good people into our lives.

Milk Test Preliminary Results

2011-04-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

Just added up the amounts milked from today's test. We won't have the fat and protein counts until the end of the day.

Most milk-Topaz with 14.1 lbs of milk. First timer Zippy (9 days fresh) 7.5 pounds (despite being stressed at having her babies taken off her).

We are milking 16 right now. Our herd average is 10.70 lbs. which includes first timers and the one milking through. Most of our older girls are at 10-13 lbs. A gallon of milk weighs about 8.4 lbs. We won't win the top awards in the LaMancha world, but I think we do dang good for a small commercial herd. I am proud of them, of their vigor, of their daily willingness to work, and for their companionship.

OK, off to do OB checks on Eliza and Joe Zell.

Test Day Diversions

2011-04-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

Our goats are on DHIA milk test through the American Dairy Goat Association and the USDA. We milk monthly, measure the amount, and then the fat and protein content of the milk is measured. This all gets recorded and goes into the great computer in the sky. What it does for us personally is tell us objectively who our most productive does are. I use this information in my cheesemaking, my breeding, and my culling decisions. I love test day, not because it is more work, but because I actually use the numbers.

Last night test was made particularly exciting as Allie decided to deliver during test. I had one eye on the delivering goat and the other on the milking goat. Thank goodness Debbie was here too! Allie delivered 2 bucks (first freshener). One was large/normal and the other just a little squeak of a thing. He must weigh about 1.5-2 lbs. Had him in the house all night but he is out with Mom and brother this morning. I am bottle feeding him colostrum every few hours (a whopping 2 oz. per feeding!). He is not preemie, just small. He sucks, walks around, and has good temperature control. They do so much better outside and at least in with Mom and brother. I will be out in the barn most of today anyway-more new ones coming soon to a stall near me.

One More Coming

Then, after all this excitement, Debbie and I were eager for some supper. We decided to put WaMaPa in a birthing pen while we went in. Deb got her and said-Oops, we have feet. So, WaMaPa subsequently also delivered 2 vigorous bucks. We got supper about 10:30 pm, then back out to the barn for the other bottle babies who got missed at 7pm. All is well, all are fed, and are OK.

Today Eliza looks imminent. For her sake, I sure hope so!

Very Pregnant Eliza

Farmers Market Relief Help Wanted

2011-04-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

We find ourselves busier by the year! This is a good thing. We are in need of a person to work markets on a relief basis. This will involve Saturdays (mostly) and maybe an occasional Sunday and/or Thursday evening. Must have reliable transportation. Prior market experience a plus. MUST love great cheese. Must have excellent customer service attitude and skills.

Position is seasonal and runs from May-September/October.

If interested, contact Rhonda at 360-202-2436 or rhonda@gothbergfarms.com

Zip's Trips

2011-03-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Zip before delivery

Zippy, a 13 month old first freshener, had triplets this morning starting at 4:30 AM. I missed the first one (even though I was sleeping on the couch in my clothes with the barn cam on!). She of course knew what to do and was doing a fine job. The second one was breech, which she also handled quite well. The third came nose and toes and we hoped that was going to be her final count! She has plenty of milk, plenty of maternal capabilities and plenty of instinct. We love easy kidders, good maternal instincts, and great dispositions. This doe has it all! Final count 1 doe, 2 bucks.

Debbie and Newborn Care

Debbie and I have such a good routine worked out this season. She is very good with animals. She has gotten quite proficient at newborn care. She is one of the great assets of this farm. Thanks Debbie! Here she is drying them with the hair dryer.

Such a Good Mom Awaiting #3

And, since I anticipated a 5:00 AM delivery last night, bless Sarah for coming in at 6:00AM to get the cheddar out of the press and get that all cleaned up. I'm telling you all, I have the BEST employees anyone could EVER imagine!

Successful Spring births and the promise of new life always starts the day with a good attitude.

Debbie and FAX

And the Work Goes On...

Goat Milker & Apprenticeship Filled

2011-03-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

We now have our apprentice chosen and look forward to working with them.

We also have our new goat milker here and doing a super job. Thanks Audrey. You fit right in.

Part-Time Goat Milker Needed

2011-01-31T12:12:00.000-08:00

We have an opening for a part-time goat milker here on the farm. This person will be required to milk every Saturday, both morning and evening milkings. Other shifts will be available, to be decided among milking crew, once established. Prefer experience, but will consider training the right person. The position is seasonal and starts late March or early April, and ends somewhere around the end of September-October.

This is a great opportunity to participate in a small, personal, Grade A Goat Dairy. Must be at least 18 and speak fluent English.

Contact: Rhonda 360-202-2436

Cheesemaker Apprenticeship

2011-01-25T06:05:00.000-08:00

We are offering a free, 2 day cheesemaker apprenticeship opportunity here on the farm. This is for an aspiring cheesemaker between the ages of 18 and 30. The recipient will work side by side with an experienced and passionate cheesemaker. You will meet the goats, the milk, the farm, and of course the cheese.

Woman of LaMancha

At Gothberg Farms we love making cheese! We love sharing what we do! We love young folks who may aspire to be a cheesemaker. Of course 2 days won't make you a cheesemaker, but it will give you a feel for this amazing craft.

Application Criteria:

1. Must be between the ages of 18 and 30.

2. Submit an essay on why you may want to be a cheesemaker and what led you to that thought.

3. Attach a resume or some chronology about your life up to this point.

4. Applications must be received no later than 5pm February 25, 2011.

There is no fee for this apprenticeship.

Transportation costs are the sole responsibility of the recipient. Housing may be provided if needed.

We are strictly a no smoking, no drugs, no pets allowed farm.

Submit applications to:

rhonda@gothbergfarms.com

or: 15203 Sunset Road
Bow WA 98232

Pre-Kidding Preparations

2011-01-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

With kidding due to start here in about a month, there are some preparations I consider routine and beneficial. Over my few years of herdsmanship I have found if I do these few simple things-the does and kids just do better overall. I include all the goats on the farm at this time-does, dry does, bucks, and any wethers in this routine. I want to stress this is MY routine that has worked well for ME. Consult your own veterinarian for your own herd. I am NOT a vet.

Vaccines

CDT Clostridium Types C & D and Tetanus
Each animal gets this. It is to prevent the above diseases. I happen to use the BarVac brand, and with that brand, I give each animal a 2cc injection, regardless of weight.

Pregnant Warner

BoSe Selenium and Vitamin E
Our soils in the Pacific NW are selenium deficient, so I give selenium injections twice a year. It is a mixed Selenium/Vitamin E solution. The Vitamin E is a carrier for Selenium absorption and utilization.

NOTE: Do NOT give this in areas where Selenium is adequate. Check with your vet. This requires a vet prescription to obtain it.

Lack of Selenium tends to contribute to very thick amniotic sacs in my observations.

OK, so far I have drawn up and given 74 shots!!!! I am a nurse. Yes, I draw up each one with a new sterile needle and syringe.

Deworming
This generally seems like a good time to administer deworming meds if indicated. The does are dry now and any withhold times can be easily adhered to. We always far exceed any withhold times here anyway.

If indicated, I will use either Cydectin pour on or Ivermection cattle injectible, but give the dose by mouth. This means I draw up the required amount of Ivermectin with needle and syringe and then REMOVE the needle and squirt the med into the animals mouth.

The Cydectin pour on should be used only as a pour on. I know some folks give it orally and this is extremely dangerous. DO NOT give a pour on by mouth!!!

Check with your vet for dosages and withhold times.

I have tried the herbal dewormers and was not all satisfied with them.

My first and best approach is prevention. This is accomplished by pasture rotation, clean bedding, and generally overall healthy animals who seldom need deworming.

Goats Enjoying a Sunny New Years Day

Hoof Trimming

Maggi & Eliza

I like to get this done before they are too big to comfortably stand on three feet. We trim here about every 2 months, year around. Our farrier, Maggi Holbert, is the BEST! She works with animals just as naturally and easily as she breathes in and out.

CAE Testing
We have been negative for 5+ years now. We test annually, just prior to kidding.

Maggi the Farrier

Next Steps
Every pen will get fresh sand added as needed. Walls in the main barn will be scrubbed, cobwebs removed, window sills dusted, etc. In the kid barn, the walls and floors will be scrubbed and sanitized. Buckets, feeders, and tubs are scrubbed with soapy water.

Kidding supplies will be rounded up and packed into the barn for easy, retrievable access. This includes:
clean towels (lots of them), hair dryer, extension cord, Betadine scrub, short and long exam gloves, iodine for navel cords, feed sacks to open for kids to be dried on, an 18 inch double clip tether to secure a doe if need be, flashlight batteries are changed out.

This year I am seriously investigating a barn camera system. Those cold, late night checks are getting harder by the year!

Anacortes Farmers Market Off-Season

2010-12-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

Great news! Anacortes Farmers Market will now have a monthly, off season market each month until the full season starts in May 2011.

Where: Sharp's Corner (old Frontier Auto building) INSIDE!!!!!

Dates: January 15, February 19, March 19, and April 16

Times: To Be Announced

We will of course be at these markets. We have been excited about the possibility of making this happen for a long time. Thanks to all who made it reality-Johanne, Peter, Keri, and Bradley (and others I am sure).

The Farm Store will continue to be Open from 10-2 on these Saturdays.

Mark you calendars, order your cheesecakes, and get your plans in gear to attend!

Feline Foodie Reviews Woman of La Mancha

2010-12-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning to a very pleasant surprise cheese review from our favorite Feline Foodie-Spaulding Gray. He and his madam are surely appreciated and loved around here!
http://cheesemonger.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/gothberg-farms’-the-woman-of-lamancha/

We have this signature original cheese we produce here called Woman of La Mancha. It is a favorite of us here on the farm and with our local eaters as well. It is fun to make, but more fun to enjoy-after about a year of ageing!! When we developed it, we put it in the ageing room, and proceeded to care for it and wait....and wait....and wait.....Then, once we tried it and loved it ( a year later) we proceeded to make some more of it....and are waiting...and waiting.....and now we are just beginning to bring some more out on a very limited basis at about 8 months of age. Mostly we are waiting for the 12+ month time frame to finally arrive. It is a bit labor intensive to make-more than most, but we feel the results are worth it. All cheesemaking is labor intensive and an act of art and love and passion. This cheese is currently available at the farm. We are open Saturdays from 10 to 2.

Early Woman of La Mancha (sorry about the blurry pic)

Nan Naw Zell's Recipes

2010-11-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

4 Generations-Traci, Rhonda, NanNaw Zell, and Alice Harris
Taken at Catfish Cabin (Zell's favorite place to go)

Nan Naw Zell (aka Joe Zell (Harkey) Tullis) was THE most awesome woman I have ever had the pleasure to know. She has been gone for years now, but rest assured, MANY of us carry her forward every day to the core of who we are. She was a marvelous home cook. She also cooked for years at their local cafe (Splendora, TX, pop.<300), and also cooked at the school lunch room. She cooked for family events most of my life. I could write an entire book about her attributes, but for today, I am going to share two of my favorite recipes of hers. Sometime in the early 1970's, I came home from UT-Austin and asked her to tell me her recipes so I could write them down. She chuckled her gentle chuckle, with her shiny glint in her big brown eyes and said "Welllll, I don know about that. I don't really have a recipe. I just make things." So I said, OK, let's make them then. So we did. I wrote down approximate measures, how much salt she put in the palm of her hand, the shape of the bowl she used for the dumplings, the thickness of the dumplings as we rolled them out. I never guessed at the time what a treasure this day would be to me. So, I want to share it with you a little bit here. I'm sure the cousins will really appreciate having these some day too. Enjoy!

Chicken & Dumplings

This is the size and shape of bowl she used for the dumplings. I have carried this size and shape around with me for years, because that is what Nan Naw had! I even saw to it that my daughter has one.

By the way, I "named" her Nan Naw as a baby myself, and it just stuck for eternity.

The tamale pie had a layer of cornmeal on the bottom of a pie plate, then the the meat layer, and was topped with the final layer of the cornmeal.

Tamale Pie-Texas Style

Small Business Saturday

2010-11-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

http://smallbusinesssaturday.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday?v=app_165267296827487#!/SmallBusinessSaturday?v=wall

This is one of THE most positive mass fresh ideas I have seen in quite some time. How awesome would it be if all of us JUST supported our local, small businesses for even one day???? I think the effect would be colossal. Even if you had not planned to shop this Saturday, but made it a point to go out and support just one small business, it could be huge.

As a small business owner, existing solely to help feed my local community, I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your support and just how much several of us depend on that continued support. Without you, I certainly would not be here, and my awesome employees would not have jobs they apparently love and heavily depend upon. The figure I have seen "out there" is that for every dollar you spend locally .68 is returned to the community (compared to .38 when you shop big chains). I would venture to say it is even higher here, as all of us are extremely locally focused in almost everything we do-food, entertainment, gifts, rent, banking, farmers markets, feed mill, veterinarians, dairy supply, water supply, septic services, sand/gravel, hay, kitchen stores, hardware stores, lumber yards, clothing, wine/cider, etc.....and the list is so much longer than this.

So tomorrow, I will be here working our farm store in the hopes you come by from 10 to 2. You could make a lovely trip of it, and make it a point to visit even just the fine food choices we have here in Edison(Bow). Three cheesemakers, artisan bread, and our own European grocery (Slough Food), and 2 other bakeries. Plus you could also stop for grass fed meats at our own Island Grown Farmers Coop. Ask me for recommendations! Please! Ask!!!

Farm Store:
15203 Sunset Road
Bow WA 98232
360-202-2436

Thoughts on Food Choices

2010-11-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

As you might imagine, I spend a fair amount of time thinking about food, usually really good food. I happen to enjoy really good food, I enjoy cooking really good food, and I love being a part of making really good food available to my local eating community. We live in an area where these foods are readily available on a local level. I do not consider them "elitist", but it does maybe take a little more effort and planning to make them the main component of your daily eating. For instance, you may need to concentrate your shopping to Saturday, if that is the day for your local farmers market. And you might need to be able to plan your week on the fly, so to speak, depending on what is fresh and available. But hey, this is the fun part! It gets a little more difficult when the markets start to end, as you may have to seek out the farmers individually, or rely on grocery store food for that part of the year. Maybe a combination is what usually happens.

Goat Ricotta & Herbs Stuffed Squash Blossoms

I am certainly NOT opposed to doing the bulk (or even all) of your shopping in a grocery store. You have the most amazing array of fresh foods on the planet in almost every neighborhood. It is more about making good choices, cooking the food yourself, staying away from packaged/processed foods, eating out less, and relying more on yourself. Every day eating does not have to be "gourmet". Your choices can be dictated by your available time. Save the eating out for the really good places, and make it special.

I buy so little from the grocery store, mostly coffee and wine, but certainly other staples and foods as desired. I was in the store last week getting pasta for a wild mushroom dinner I had planned. I had some whole wheat pasta, some fresh vegetables, some staple food items, wine, a few canned items (tomatoes), but not any "junk" food. I was behind two women with a huge cart of food. I wasn't stalking them, but I don't look at the magazines in the line, so I saw their cart contents. It was chock-a-block full of "junk"-donuts-chocolate and plain in a box, cookies, lots of soda, chips, white bread....the only "real" food was 2 mega sized packs of ground beef and one gallon of milk. Their total was $117.00. They paid with their food stamp card. They were young and fairly overweight (ok, obese). The contents of their cart told me they do not likely cook much. I found it sad and a little irritating that the food stamp dollars can be spent this way.

Today I found this Newsweek article along these same thoughts:
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/22/what-food-says-about-class-in-america.html

It is my hope we can all begin making the more local and more natural choices. For me, as a food provider, it is much bigger than that. I also provide income for 4 employees. And studies show for every dollar they earn, .68 stays in our local community. My guess here is that number is even higher, as they too are locally focused on their choices. I know the women who work here are highly skilled and accomplished women who truly love what they do. I also know they depend on this income source. I also know I cannot do it without them. We have created a beautifully supportive and nurturing source for your local goat cheese needs.

Goat Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes in Season

Goats (& Cheese) Debut on KOMO4 News

2010-11-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

On November 17, 2010 we were on the 4 o'clock news IN Seattle. We had an assortment of our cheeses which were showcased for Eat Local for Thanksgiving. We also brought a live goat with us, by request I might add. It was a lot of fun bringing the goat to the city, walking him into regular elevators, through the fancy lobby of Fisher Plaza, and up to the news station.

Tom Watson and all the KOMO staff were so kind, professional, and fun to work with. I was a bit nervous as everything happened so fast. Debbie, esteemed goat handler, went with me. Could not have done it without her.

Here is the link to the news clip. You may to allow Active X for it to work.
http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/ecoconsumer/KOMO4-videos.asp?mfile=EcoTG.wmv&loc=server#video

Rhonda on KOMO patio

Debbie in KOMO patio (4th floor up)

Debbie and Goat by Space Needle

Saturday Cheese at the Farm

2010-10-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

Beginning Saturday October 23, 2010 at:

15203 Sunset Road
Bow WA 98232

Accessed by either Farm to Market Road or Chuckanut Drive.

We will trial being open from 10am-2pm on Saturdays for you to stop in for cheese selections. Nothing fancy here. No formal tours. We have had so many requests for cheese now that markets are ending, we decided to try this and see if you like it.

Would love your feedback as we give this a try. Hope to see many of you on Saturday now.

Growing Marshmallows!

2010-10-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

1st Haylage

Well, maybe not really, but this is what our Grandson thought last year when saw these in a field. We are VERY excited to have gotten to this point this year. It has been an odd year for grass here, cold, wet, unpredictable. Remember when we first planted this (late) on July 2nd, as it had rained almost every day up to that point? Then when it did not rain for over a month? Then we had weed pressure which we controlled with mowing? This says a LOT for the skill of the farmers we work with and also for the general health/growing suitability of our land. Anyway, now this 18 acres is not looking too shabby!

One of the Marshmallow Stacks

The goats are infinitely curious and entertained by anything happening in "their" yard. We won't feed any of this to our goats, it is all going for cow food. We don't feed silage feeds. Mostly just thrilled it will go to a good use to feed livestock! Rough count is about 50 of these large bales. Now if all goes well, next year this will help feed our goats.

Hey Gals-Come Look!

They all had to come out and look at what I was doing walking on the side of the road with camera in hand!

Love, Love, Love....their curiosity. They followed up by coming out to the fence to greet me.

1st Cutting of NEW Pasture!!

2010-10-05T16:29:00.000-07:00

Sound the bugles! Pop the cork! It is a beautiful day on the farm!

Our Field and Mt. Baker

Remember on July 2nd when we planted the 18 acres of new grass, then had .01 in of rainfall for that month? Remember how prolific the weeds were? Well, with good advice (Thanks Dave and others) and diligence, we have the first cutting done!!! We mowed the weeds a few times and the grass took over, just as we had hoped for. No spray, just diesel for the mowing.

This first cutting will go as cow food in the form of the giant marshmallows. I will try to post updated pictures in a couple of days.

Yippee!!

I am just so excited to see the progress. My learning curve has been steep, but I have trusted the right people.

Thanks Charlie!

The Magnificient Males

2010-10-05T04:51:00.000-07:00

It is Fall. And in this season, the breeding for Spring milk happens. There are several ways to accomplish a milk supply. We choose to own, breed, milk, and nurture our own goats, producing all our own milk for our cheeses. We breed the does every year, resulting in a kidding season each Spring.

Smelling a Doe

Goats are seasonal breeders at our latitude. The does "heat" cycles are triggered by decreasing day length. The bucks know this is their one season of "work" each year. This is why we keep them, love them, and plan oh so carefully all about them. A goats' gestation period (length of pregnancy) is about 5 months, or 145-150 days from breeding. We have all LaManchas and ours tend to kid (have goat babies) closer to the 145 day mark.

A good dairy consists of good dairy animal stock. There is probably no absolutely perfect goat out there. We know what traits are desirable to us, so we plan and breed to enhance those traits that have worked well for us. All of our goats are registered with the American Dairy Goat Association. With that they have a program whereby we can put in the registration numbers of each animal, and it will give us a % inbred profile, and also list the common ancestors that Planned Breeding will share. Pretty slick, eh? This is one of the tools used to plan who gets the honeymoon suite with who in the goat yard.

Samson

We don't put the bucks in with the does for extended periods of time. We know our goats quite well, and we detect their heats (trust me, the bucks know WAYYYY before we do). When a doe is determined to be in an amorous mood, the pre-selected buck is let out of his usual pasture and put in a seldom used one. This is no small task here. We run our bucks as a group, and they know what pulling them means, and they all push the gate trying to be the chosen one. We just can't get them to read the breed list! When the doe is bred, she is taken back to her pen and the buck is returned to his. Again, great gate pushing ensues. Year after year, we use the same technique. To get the bucks distracted from the gate to accomplish the return, a doe is walked down the buck fence line. Year after year, they fall for this and all follow the does down the fence line. This makes the return so easy! For obvious reasons, this is a task better suited to two humans, but can be done by one.

Waylon & Willie, Zydeco hanging back

We have never noticed any off flavors in our milk based on buck encounters. I think our clothing probably harbors more smells than the does seem to. Bucks do have a distinctive smell in the "rut". They urinate on their own faces, drink the urine of their pen mates, do some head butting, and generally become a different species. Our guys are tame, generally pretty easy to handle, and are loved. Even in this season, I put on gloves and still give them head pats and scratches, etc. They almost stop eating this time of year. Truly a one track mind! They then spend the rest of the year eating, looking good, and not causing much trouble.

Waylon

And these guys are big! We estimate them at about 300 pounds. They could easily pull me into the next county if they wanted to, but they don't. Disposition is one of my mandatory traits! Now you see why.

So Much to Learn!

Fall Season on the Farm

2010-09-24T07:04:00.000-07:00

Lots of things begin to shift this time of year in farm life. The farmers markets begin to wind down, we, the care givers begin to succumb to exhaustion, and the goats change in every way. Milk production begins to drop-but at the same time that delicious butterfat and protein rise, so the cheese yield per gallon of milk actually goes up. Cheesemaking recipes are seasonally, minimally adjusted. The milk just "behaves" differently. We now have enough years at this with the same essential lines of goats to know our particular needs and how we like our cheese to taste, and can make our adjustments. It is a beautiful dance we enjoy.

Goats this far from the equator are seasonal breeders. That means they have a natural "heat" (estrus) cycle in the Fall. This is driven by day length. OK, so now our days are noticeably shorter, even to us 2 legged creatures. Estrus is in full force with the herd. They tend to all cycle nearly in sync with each other. The cycle is every 18-21 days. The visible signs are crying for the boys at the fence line, some vaginal mucus changes (remember we see them from the tail side twice a day, every day), tail twitching, crying and carrying on some more, fighting, big drop in milk production (which comes back up after the cycle). There is lots of fighting, nuzzling, just odd, not the usual day sort of behavior going on.

Now the boys-they begin the cycle first from what I have observed. In actuality, I think they have detected the female changes long before I see them. They quit eating for the most part, urinate on their faces and each others faces (yep-that's right-the other guy has to put his face there, and he does this over and over), and fighting for the girl is a frequent occurrence. My usually calm, easy to handle big boys (probably 300# or so) become a bit rowdy and hard to handle.

Breedings are planned here. Quite planned. More on that later if you want. Lots of detail but it boils down to genetic improvements for the herd.

So at 5:30 am as I was out with the dog, I heard all manner of crying from the barn. Not a distress cry, but an unusual amount of noise for the time of day and darkness. My LaManchas are normally very quiet for the most part. This was coupled with the gentle bleat of two older does at the fence. I call them my tattle-tales as they always rat the others out to me. So, OK, change shoes to barn shoes, grab the phone, and go do a pajama check. All is well. Three does crying the fence line. We have 9-10 bred already, I suspect it will be 14 or so by days end.

Gestation is 145-150 days (LaManchas "tend" to go on the earlier side). So February babies galore here we come! We plan to breed 25-28 does this year unless I actually try milking 3-5 of them through. With goats, you can "milk through" and just keep going without re-breeding them. I am told you get about 25% less production the following year. That may be worth it not to kid out that many more. I don't so much mind the the sleeping in the barn actual kidding season, it all those darling goat babies to deal with. For 2010 we had 55 baby goats born here. I kept 4 as replacements. That is a LOT of good goat homes to find.

We enjoy the cycles on the farm. We enjoy the predictability. We like working with nature and natural cycles. And there is never a dull moment. The unpredictable always happens too.

We Love Good Reviews!

2010-09-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a nice review post I found on Skagit Coop's Facebook page:

Get Your Goat Cheese from Gothberg
Posted on September 14, 2010 by Sarah

Lucky, lucky, lucky we are to have a local producer of goat cheese. All too often I hear people say they don’t like goat cheese. My immediate response is to tell them that they probably haven’t had GOOD goat cheese, and Gothberg Farms makes GOOD goat cheese.

Let’s begin with Chèvre: a fresh, spreadable cheese. Gothberg’s Chèvre is incredibly light and fluffy with a clean, subtle tang. Whenever I have a guest who says they “don’t normally eat cheese”, they always end up devouring Gothberg’s Chèvre. I love how versatile this cheese can be: delicious alone, drizzled with olive oil or honey, rolled in herbs, topped with chili flakes, peppercorns, fresh fruit or preserves… but my favorite may be eating it on Breadfarm Graham Crackers – instant mini cheesecake, yum!

Just as Chèvre must be made with goat’s milk, traditional Feta is made with goat or sheep’s milk (if this was Europe, we wouldn’t be able to call it Feta unless it was made in Greece!). The flavor of Feta cheese depends upon the type of milk used, so it is no wonder that Greek natives flock to the Gothberg booth at farmer’s markets to enjoy a taste of “home”. Gothberg Feta has just the right amount of sharp and salt; strong enough to stand out in salads, vegetable pies, or on pizza, and yet easily eaten slice after slice, bite after bite. As Feta should, Gothberg’s crumbles nicely and has a pleasant zest. Olives and Feta naturally go together, and the Breadfarm Black Olive Baguette makes an excellent match.

If you are fortunate enough to come across Gothberg’s Caprino Romano or Woman of LaMancha, take some home with you. The Caprino Romano is inspired by traditional Italian raw milk cheeses. Aged for a year, it has a surprisingly creamy texture with a well developed flavor. The peppercorn rind adds a nice touch of spice. The Woman of LaMancha is a Manchego style cheese. Also a raw milk cheese, it is drier in texture, has a wonderful nutty flavor and a smoked paprika rind. These specialty cheeses are best savored by the slice with a glass of good, red wine or whiskey!

What makes Gothberg Farms cheese taste better than some other goat cheeses? The quality of the the milk makes all the difference. Some people enjoy the “bucky” flavors often found in goat cheeses, whereas the majority of us prefer a more delicate “goatiness”. Rhonda Gothberg likes her milk to taste like melted ice cream. That can only make good cheese.

Plant It & It Will Grow

2010-09-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

We are blessed with fabulous soils where we live. Almost any cool seaon plant will grow here. Our water table is high, so that is good for summer growth, but not so good in winter when we get "ponding" aka lakes on our fields.

Here is a current picture of the pasture we planted just as the rains stopped coming. Weeds have been prolific, but there is quite a bit of grass too. We have consulted with the skilled local farmer next door and the agronomist and are opting for continuing to mow the weeds down. Each time, more grass sprouts. We are not certified organic, but ascribe more to organic principles than not. So, mowing is a better choice than spraying, for us. In the back, there is actually quite a bit of nice, green, freshly sprouted grass!!

Our little fledgling garden is managing to produce some food for us too. This year has been cold and wet, so none of the warmer season plants have done so well. Chard, kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, beets, potatoes-all doing just fine.

A few foods did manage to survive my neglect and crummy season.

Scarce tomatoes and purple cabbbage.

We are so blessed with our soils. The garden is fed 100% with goat bedding compost. It is all that is ever needed. I don't water, weed sporadically (usually with help!) and still it feeds us partially through my benign neglect.

"Meet the Cheesemaker"

2010-08-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of attending this event last night in Seattle as part of the American Cheese Society's annual cheese convention. The array of fine cheeses we are producing in the United States is phenomenal! And the cheesemakers are just as terrific! And OMG-the eaters, retailers, distributors, promoters........unbelievable to have so many in one room! There must have been about 600+ people there in all. Wow! Loved seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and having totally cheesy conversations with those who actually share the love. Amazing evening for me.

Our Cheese Table

Marcella Wright, or beloved Feline Foodie cheese blogger, was my ever capable "assistant". She is truly an angel. I so appreciated her help, but more than that, I loved getting to know her better. She has a great knowledge of many things and I think she knew almost everyone in the room! Marcella, thank you again.

Our other long-time friends, Metropolitan Markets, did a super job of hosting. It is so nice to for me to see the same faces and names with them for so many years now. They are a great store, have the best employees, and are so supportive of us local producers. Thanks to you Metropolitan Market! Another beautiful, professional job accomplished.

And the people I got to meet.........I only wish I could even hope to remember half the names, but of course I cannot. Thank you all for attending, thank you for the overwhelmingly supportive comments/reviews of our cheeses. I thank you, my goats thank you, and my employees thank you. We all work very hard to do our best, and it is a big gratification to see your appreciation of it all!

Rhonda in "City Clothes"

For those of you wondering how I even got to Seattle-I left in plenty of time, drove through the blinding rain, used the new iphone GPS assistance, and chose valet parking for convenience. OK-sticker shock at $32.00 for a few hours parking......Coming back home into our Valley was another joy of the day. Beautiful sunset, and no red lights. Thankfully we don't even have a 4 way stop out here yet. I love that too. The upbeat of the City is sure fun for a few hours, but I am always happy to come home.

The President of the United States Eats "Our" Cheese!

2010-08-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true! President Obama had our feta cheese on his Skagit Valley Salad at Seattle's Grand Central Bakery. This is exciting in several ways:
1) The President was at a successful, small, local business in Seattle
2) He chose from the menu and selected a local favorite salad
3) Our feta was on that salad

OK, this is a very long way from my humble beginnings in Beaumont, TX. Never in a million years would I have ever thought the President would eat a food created by my very own hands (and my accomplished employees). I think this is one of those random events in life that we cannot anticipate. I just love that!

[Links to the news stories below pictures]

Obama Stops at Seattle's Grand Central Bakery for a Bite

Obama: Turkey Sandwich & Jammer to Go

Feline Foodie Reviews Our Cheese

2010-07-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well look at us! Kind words in the news for 2 days in a row. Makes us blush a bit, but also excited and appreciative. Thanks Spaulding Gray for the review. We are very happy to have you join our ranks as a goat cheese convert-all it takes is really good goat cheese.

Nice GF Cheese Review

We're "In the News"!

2010-07-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

A wonderful customer of mine at the Everett Farmers Market told me about these yesterday. As you might imagine, I don't get much time for reading the newspaper, so I searched it out, and low and behold, here we are!
SeattleTimes.july2010

Hey...HAY

2010-07-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

We find ourselves in a bit of a quandary this year, for the first time ever really, over the availability of local hay for our goats. For all years past, we have fed primarily pea hay plus western WA alfalfa, supplemented with grass hay. All of our animals have 24/7/365 pasture access on a great grass blend that works well for us and our soils. Our climate is moderate and the pastures remain green all year.

For 2010 however, we have NO pea hay in our valley. This was a near-perfect goat food: it was affordable and it made an excellent use for a food crop by-product. The peas were harvested for the frozen food market and "our" young farmer, Charlie Lundgren, found the fields, baled the hay, and kept us well-supplied. The peas were a nitrogen fixing crop to follow potatoes, so that helped restore the land. It was win:win as far as I could see. We are seriously mourning the loss of this food which helped meet the needs of so many.

The peas loss came with some warning. I went to the local ag extension office to try to proactively look for a solution. We have land and I was willing to test crop and risk share possible alternatives. I sadly met with no help. Being a "woman" in dairy, with goats no less, I am seldom included in any of their discussions. That is another topic and I don't lose any sleep over it. I take solace in believing I am doing the right thing, for the right reasons, for the right people. That is all I need.

Enter 2010 again.....the coldest, wettest Spring in a long time. Hay fields were wet and growth started poorly state wide. This, in turn, affected the alfalfa crop in western WA, whom we also depend on. Our goats MUST have alfalfa for the calcium and protein. These are relatively high producing dairy does and we carefully meet their nutritional needs to support their continued excellent health, production, and milk flavor.

Sad, Dry, Planted Field

In a perfect world, the goats would have a large wooded area to browse in, but we had the farm before the goats, so we get to work with what we have.

Fearing a loss of decent, affordable (?) alfalfa, we were able to secure a full semi truck load of 5th cutting alfalfa from the 2009 fall harvest. This is beautiful hay and we were lucky to get it. At this same time, the potato crop on "our front 20 acres" failed due to the cold and rain. We took this opportunity to go ahead and get some pasture/hay grass planted. Grass hay is what we will now use to feed the bucks entirely and to the girls as a supplement to the alfalfa. So, on July 2nd, we planted, and it has not rained since. The week of July 2nd saw a $10,000.00 hay bill!!!!! Now, we will begin looking into the grass "remedy"..more $$$$$$$$$$$. These are unanticipated costs and hit hard. We still believe our goats deserve the BEST and if we cannot give them that, I will quit.

Local Grass Hay

The alfalfa we got is premium dairy hay. Each bale is 3 ft x 5 ft and weighs 1300 lbs!!!! Not our norm by any wildest thought. We are working this out too. I am being forced to learn way more than I wanted to about the business of hay. We have helped support the same young hay farmer for many years now, and our families have enjoyed getting to know each other. We continue working together on solutions.

Alfalfa Bales

These costs don't get passed on to the consumer now. Hopefully over time it balances out.

On the bright side, we have 30.5 tons of great alfalfa which should last a year. Our does are producing beautifully on it, and the milk tastes great-which of course translates to the cheese.

Y'all do know you can't make good cheese from bad milk right? You can screw up good milk and make bad cheese, but you can't fix bad milk. Our sweet, fresh, delicious milk is the key to all we do around here.

Thank you for your support as we weather 2010.

Texas BBQ Follow Up

2010-06-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

As you may have heard, we had a really fabulous time with the Cafe Adrift, Boundary Bay Brewery, and Gothberg Farms Texas BBQ, beer and cheese pairing on June 6th. The food (almost 100% local) was beyond incredible.

One of the fun events we did was a beer/cheese pairing alchemy led by our much loved Julia Wayne from Edible Seattle. Here are the results of the pairings we had the pleasure of sampling!

Hopefully most of you have seen the pictures on facebook, so I won't bore you with repeats.

Thanks Chef Martin

2010-06-17T18:45:00.000-07:00

Chef Martin brings his culinary students to tour our small farm each year. They do some really incredible local food events and catering. I have had the pleasure of attending a few of them. I so appreciate the opportunity to participate in the education of our future chefs and food lovers.

This article appeared in our local newspaper, the Skagit Valley Herald. Imagine my surprise at finding this! I love it!

When the last class came, they brought me one of these tarts. I have never forgotten how much I loved it. In fact, we had made attempts at re-creating it. The fresh chevre makes for a fabulous dessert treat.

Thanks Chef Martin and your students!

We Are Now Animal Welfare Approved

2010-05-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Please join us in celebrating this awesome organization! They are concerned with the welfare of ALL farm animals worldwide. Their standards are high. Their process is comprehensive. Being a part of this is an honor.

The person they sent to survey our farm was knowledgeable, helpful, and fun. His name was Jan, a PhD. from WSU. He looked at absolutely every function related to the animals and their well being., I have such confidence in this organization with this kind of comprehensive approach to animal practices. Any suggestions he offered were meaningful and heeded. He is a livestock producer himself.

I had not thought too much about "labels" before I became aware of this organization. There are so many labels and tags out there, it is hard for me to decipher. This one caught my attention for their comprehensive approach to all animals. We strive very diligently here to provide the absolute best for our animals, at every stage of life. It is nice to have third party, arms length confirmation that we are on the "right track" providing humane and ethical treatment of our animals. I firmly believe you actually taste it in our milk, but that is my opinion.

You, as a food consumer, should look for their logo wherever you buy your food.

Thank you for your support!

Farm Dinner June 6, 2010

2010-05-07T06:32:00.000-07:00

We have a fun farm dinner and tour planned for June 6, 2010, from 1pm-5pm. This will be a Texas style BBQ prepared by Nicole and Maggi from Cafe Adrift in Anacortes. They have a new catering "wagon" with BBQ attached. If that fails us, we have our official Texas behemoth BBQ always at the ready. This event is in conjunction with our local Slow Food chapter (Skagit River Salish Sea) and part of each ticket sale will go to them.

So, here is a general plan for the afternoon:
1pm-3pm: Farm tours and beer and cheese tasting/pairing. Beers will be from Boundary Bay in Bellingham and cheeses will be from Gothberg Farms. Julia Wayne from Edible Seattle will be here to help us with a fun and interactive way to do this.

3pm-5pm: The Food
BBQ Brisket (from Island Grown Farmers Coop Bow WA)
Chicken (from Well Fed Farm Mt. Vernon WA birds being grown now just for us!)
Grilled Oysters (from Taylors Seafood Bow WA)
Potato Salad (local of course)
Cole Slaw (local of course)
Bread (from the Breadfarm Bow WA)
Delightful Dessert (made with Gothberg Farms chevre)

Please join us for this fun summer kick off!

Tickets are $65.00 which includes everything. Must be paid in advance. Nicole needs to plan the food since she does not just pick from the shelf and open a package.

Children under 12, $10.00.

No pets to the farm please. We have plenty of our own for you to enjoy.

For reservations, contact Rhonda or stop in at Adrift. We can both accept credit cards, but not over the Internet.

Rhonda 360-202-2436

ADGA Convention

2010-03-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

I am delighted to announce that I will be presenting a full day Farmstead Small Goat Dairy workshop on Monday, October 18. This will be occurring at the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) Convention in Tuscon, Arizona.

My workshop will cover all aspects of owning and managing a small, farmstead goat dairy. We will take the concept from idea to reality. We will cover the animals, the farm, the cheese, the employees, and finally ideas for marketing and distribution of the cheese. This is the story of Gothberg Farms. We will discuss what has worked well and also areas for enhancement. Come with lots of questions. We will have a great day together.

I look forward to meeting my fellow cheesemakers and small dairy enthusiasts.

Cheese Lovers Package

2010-03-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

We are offering a variety of our cheeses as a package. These are our most popular choices. Prices are "at the farm or farmers market" picked up prices. Shipping is available at extra cost to purchaser. We need a 2 week lead time(preferred anyway until Memorial Day) on orders.

Enjoy!

**Note: This is a sampling of our cheeses. Not all are featured in this promotion.

Package Includes:
Chevre (1 pound) packaged in appx. 1/3 lb. rounds
Feta (1.5 pound) packaged in smaller sizes in individual vacuum pouches
Gouda (1.5 pound) may choose up to 2 varieties:
   Plain
   Cinco de Mayo (red pepper/garlic),
   Nettle
   Cumin Seed
Cheddar or Caerphilly (1 pound)

Plus:
Cheese Companions - 1 package of each:

Cinco de Mayo Crackers with our own Cinco de Mayo blend

Lemon-Ricotta Cookies with our own whole milk ricotta

Chevre/Cranberry/Walnut Biscuits with our own chevre

The above companions are our own custom recipes that are baked at the The Breadfarm in Edison, WA.

$150.00 for all of this:
5 cheeses and 3 custom companions!

A Year in the Life of a Gothberg Goat

2010-03-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here's an overview of how we raise goats here, on our farm, using methods that work for us. It is only "one of many" ways to do things. You should do what works best for you and your herd. The most important thing is to have happy, healthy animals. happy herdsmen and herdswomen, and have FUN!

Birth

Our kidding pens are a spacious 6 ft. x 12 ft. The doe is moved to the kidding pen at the time of her due date, or with signs of impending labor. Ideally, each birth is attended but not assisted unless needed. Most of our does deliver by themselves. As the kid is born they are towel dried and licked dry by Mom. We also use a hair dryer if it really cold in the barn. Umbilical (navel) cords are dipped in iodine to prevent infection. Mom's teats are squirted to be sure they are open and kids are up to nurse colostrum within minutes usually. We assist as needed. All kids get full and adequate colostrum within 2 hours.

Birth-3 Days

During this time does and kids are left together 24 hrs/day to nurse and bond freely. Mom is milked out as needed (some of ours have way more milk than their babies can consume).

At about day 3, Moms generally get "Cabin Fever" and are ready for the next phase.

3 Days-2 Weeks

The kids are moved to a group kid pen in the same barn. Mom's go back in with their herd group. Then 4 times/day, does and kids are reconnected for nursing. They spend some time exploring the barn aisle together and are then put back into their respective pens until the next feeding. Note: Disbudding and castration takes place within this first week of life.

2 Weeks-2 Months

The kids "move up" to the nursery barn. This is a series of pens constructed in the old milking parlor that came with the property. Kids are then put on the bottle 2-3 times/day as needed. Once they are strong on the bottle (2-3 days) they progress to "the bucket". This is a 10 nipple caprine feeder that works great. They can have all they want. I'd like to add they are all offered fresh hay from day 1, and water from about week 1. At about 3 weeks we begin to introduce a small amount of grain (Gothberg Goat from Conway Feed, Conway WA). They begin getting controlled access to the outside for play and pasture. We have to keep a careful watch here for predator birds-eagles and ravens. During this time, the kids are being sold and movuing to their new homes too.

2 Months-8/9 Months

Now they are growing, eating, playing, and generally being goats. For this period they are back into the main barn. This tends to be our keeper group. They are fed hay, fresh water, pasture (24/7) and some grain. All of our does are fed pea hay and alfalfa and all have 24/7 pasture access.

8/9 Months-12/13 Months

During this time they are bred (as size, age, and condition warrant). Our general rule of thumb for breeding is minimum 8 months, and 80 pounds (which they always exceed). Now they begin to grow their pregnancies.

13 Months

Ideal time (for us) for them to have thier first kids and thus begins the cycle again.

This is of course a much simplified version, more of an overview. We love the new kids. They are fun and entertaining. Fortunately, we have very few problems or complications.

With 50-60 new kids a year, we obvioulsly cannot keep them all. Contact Rhonda if interested in any!

Seasonal Farmstead Goat Dairying

2010-03-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

Spring is in the air and the requests for our fresh chevre are mounting rapidly. We thank you all for that. I know it comes as no surprise to any of you that we do not simply "turn on the milk tap" to magically have the milk here to make into cheese. We are a true farmstead goat dairy, and that means every drop of milk you get in our cheese was bred here, born here, birthed here, and milked here by our caring hands. We do not buy milk from an outside source. There is nothing "wrong" with that, it is just not our style or preference.
So why don't we have year-round milk like the cow dairies? Or even some of the goat dairies? I will try to summarize that choice here.

Goats by nature are seasonal breeders at our latitude. They come into active heat cycles as the days get shorter in the fall. It is light driven as much as anything. Cows apparently do not have this same sensitivity to day length. Goats can have year-round milk in several ways. One way is to do what is called "milking through", which means some goats are well suited to just keep milking without having to freshen (have babies) again. We have not gone too far with this, but may try it on a limited scale in the future. Another way is to manipulate heat cycles with artificial lighting to induce heats at other times of the year. We will not be trying this one. There are some hormonal manipulations that can be used as well, but that will not be practiced here either. We have chosen to let the goats breed and birth with their natural cycles. We have had good success with the health of our animals and goat kids with this routine. And with this routine comes an added bonus for the milker crew. We get 2-3 months off the milking chores when the weather is the least pleasant outside here in the Pacific Northwest. This allows us some much needed time "off" for a little goofing off of our choosing. Animal chores never end, but the load is lighter in the Winter. We have found when it is cold, blowing sideways rain, the goats do not want get up and be milked any more than we want to be there to milk them. We all win with this routine.

A brief description of our year:

December/January
Goats are basically "dry" (not milking). They are busy resting and growing their pregnancies. We are busy with organizing, cleaning out the nursery barn, planning, and wrapping up the farmers market seasons. If we hope to travel anywhere, this is the time.

February/March/April
Babies begin arriving and the barn comes to full life. All births are attended if possible. Assistance is given as needed. Lots of late night barn checks and all day kidding activities abound.

May through October
This is peak milk season. Cheese is being made regularly, volumes are increasing, and life is really busy: literally 12-18 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are at farmers markets, community events, and delivering to our local customers, who we are ever so grateful for.

September through November
Milk volumes begin to decrease. Goats begin coming into active heats, and the selected matings are completed. We begin to look forward to the seasonal changes.

The gestation for a goat is 145-150 days. They tend to have multiple births here (great nutrition). Triplets are more our "norm" and we get a few quads-not by choice. The babies are weaned from the milk at 8-10 weeks of age. It is still an amazement to me how many of us depend on this beautiful milk from these magnificent animals.

We milk about 20 in the peak time. This gives us about 40-45 gallons of milk to make into cheese every 2-2.5 days. As a comparison, right now in early March, I am making the fresh chevre with only 13 gallons. So thanks for your patience and understanding as we begin anew. We look forward to seeing all of you again.

World's Cutest Cowgirl

2010-03-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

This is my granddaughter. She is as natural with animals as she is with breathing. This video was taken at the Ft. Worth Stock Show by TCU students in a FOX scholarship competition. I give them lots of credit for excellent taste in subject choices as well an overall job well done. I am so proud of my whole family here. Great job you guys!

Farmer/Fisher/Chef Seattle 3/1/2010

2010-03-02T06:55:00.000-08:00

What a great day I just had connecting with chefs, farmers of all sorts, wild fishers, writers, suppport structure folks.......my oh my. I found every one of them to be interesting and engaging. It was such a great feeling spending an informative day among 400+ like-minded eaters who ALL cared passionately about their food!

The first part of the day was panel discussions on newly emerging Internet connection methods for producers and buyers. This is fairly new to most of us, but seems to be an idea worth investigating. I am a founding member of our local one http://www.psfn.org/ and was introduced to another one called http://www.food-hub.com/. Food-hub covers a little broader area, based out of Portland OR.

Another "new to me" is http://www.foodista.com/. This is the Wikipedia for just food. Can't wait to explore that one. And for you iphone users, there is an app called "locavore" which will tell you what is in season in your area and where to find it. Wow! Guess I have more learning curve out there. Just wish some days it was a little flatter curve. Oh well, Iam pleased to learn of these. Foodista is the creation of an ex-Amazon techie exec, if I understood him right.

There were break out sections on good topics. And then there was lunch. And oh what a "lunch" it was. Local food prepared by Herban Feast. Desserts were prepared by other chefs, one of whom I met from a place called "Hot Cakes". We had lots of beans, a sun choke gratin, lamb dishes, seafood dishes, cerviche, rabbit pasta, I can't even remember all of it to include. It was really pretty fantastic.

After lunch, we had a "speed dating" format for buyers and producers to connect. This was fun and productive.

The location at Herban Feast was pretty neat too. It is in an old not too over restored industrial machine building in SoDo. Much is left to respect and honor its past. It is fantastic. For me, the Woman of Historic Preservation, it was near perfect. Now finding the place was a challenge. The directions were a bit sketchy and I was by myself and I am not so good at city driving anyway. You have to keep in mind our town does not even have a 4-way stop, let alone even one traffic light. I took the W. Seattle Bridge as directed, but failed to see the exit I needed. Ended up in Alki before I could turn around, then ended up on Beacon Hill, followed by Chinatown, followed by Pioneer Square. Eventually I found it and-ahem-No Parking to be found. I pulled into a paper store called Xpedex and they were gracious enough to allow me to park there. I did find some really cool paper there btw. God Bless the kindness of strangers.

I also had the pleasure of re-connecting with Julia Wayne. She is an amazing and talented, young, enthusiastic writer, eater, friend, and community member. She loves anything about any good cheese. Well, she loves any good food in general. She is a fun person to call my friend. Thank you Julia for the company, the introductions, and your help. Look for her cheese column in Edible Seattle.

The day wrapped up with a food tasting/sampling. As you can correctly envision, the choices were fabulous. I could not leave my station, but Julia was thoughtful and brought me some pretty incredible tastes. There was food, beer, wine, and who really knows what else. The attendees seemed to be really enjoying it. I sure loved meeting each of them and also re-connecting with some introductions from the past.

A huge thank you to Zachary, Chef Connection, Herban Feast and all the other folks who made this happen. I am so pleased you finally scheduled it to fit in with my kidding schedule so I could be there. I look forward to next year.

Goats For Sale

2010-02-27T06:21:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year again. We breed them in the fall, nourish their preganancies (and them) all through the winter, then come Spring, we birth with them. It is the cycle on the farm. We love the babies, hold, cuddle, nourish, and see to their needs along with their Mom (called dams in goat world). As the weeks progress, we have more than we can keep. We have quite a few pre-orders from people who know our genetics and fabulous milk. But still, there are more. We offer doelings (younger than a year), bucklings, and wethers (a castrated male goat). If you don't already have goats, we provide resource support for basically the rest of your life. I am happy to share my non-veterinary advice with you about their care. I do not take the place of qualified vet care.

Please contact me if you are interested in any of these magnficent animals. Prices available upon request.

Exciting Upcoming Event

2010-02-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

June 6, 2010 - Save the date!!

We are planning a down home Texas style BBQ Farm Dinner with Cafe Adrift. We are planning to have a local beer and cheese tasting, and BBQ oysters from Taylor's Shellfish.

What a great way to kick off the season!

There should still be baby goats to play with, too. I'll update info as we get plans finalized!

First Deliveries of 2010

2010-02-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

The babies have started arriving for the year!!

5 does delivered, more twins very early this morning. Have had 3 sets of triplets, and 2 sets of twins. Total is 8 does and 5 bucks now. One in early labor for today-then I should get a "break" for a few days before the next "round" is due.