As our third cheese season comes to a close we would like to reflect and look back on 2017 so far. Our fresh Chevre has sold out each week for nearly 35 weeks. Kick Ash Goat Cheese has made it's place in your hearts and in your fridge. Cream Cache wasn't as successful this year but we hardly had time to make it. Soap is in huge demand and we will be revamping that product line this off season with the move. Yes, the move. It's not as simple as loading the goats on a trailer and driving them 20 minutes up the road. it is so much more than that.
On top of being his busiest year yet, my dear husband is building fence at home. You can't have livestock (especially goats) without fence and we can't apply for resource grants without livestock on the property. Heck, we can't even get Rockbridge County to give us the land tax ag rate because we haven't made profit on our new property for five years - don't even get me started on that one! Anyway, there's fence, gates, shelter and utilities yet to be done. A new neighbor and skilled excavator put in our new round about and pad for the building and we can imagine where the goats will start pigging out first on the overgrown 30 acres.
Soon the plumbing and electric will be disconnected and dissected from the building in Fairfield. Only then can a local building moving company come in, place beams and somehow place it on a large trailer without making a scratch or dent (I'm praying so hard). I imagine we'll go up Rte 11 North towards Lexington then onto 64 towards Kerrs Creek. If you see a large grayish, greenish building going down the road with our banner on it - that's Bertha's home! Bertha is our 30 gallon pasteurizer, our most important piece of equipment that slowly heats the milk and 'rids the milk of harmful bacteria'. We all know raw milk is awesome but it is state law to pasteurizer milk before making certain cheeses (especially Chevre). Bertha and her refrigerator friends will not be moving in the building but will be moved in a closed trailer along with my mega shit ton of supplies, tools, etc.
To say the least - we are excited! We probably could have milked through November but for the sake of time and the weather we'd like to see the building placed in time to set up utilities and get the goats settled in. Meanwhile, enjoy Batch 91, 92 and 93 while you can! We are also planning on applying for a USDA Value Added Producer Grant which will help us make MORE cheese in 2018.
Happy Cheese Hunting!
The little farms sure will be glad when mom isn't driving back and forth like a lunatic next year!