Want Milk? Get Your Goats!

Join us at the farm on OCTOBER 20th, 2019, for a HANDS-ON day with the goats and in the dairy room complete with a light breakfast, substantial lunch and decadent desserts featuring our delicious Dairy Delights! This interactive workshop will be HANDS-ON as we explore how to pick the right breed of goat and how many to get started with a home dairy milk supply based on the space/shelter/time you have to give them along with determining how much milk supply you really want to have. Information around choosing disease-free stock, different breed characteristics, setting up appropriate spaces and what equipment is needed for hand and machine-milking will be covered along with opportunities to try each. We will finish our afternoon in the dairy room to look at what is needed to set up your own micro-dairy and make some gelato together which of course we will all share together to end our day.

This workshop is limited to 8 people. Questions submitted ahead of time by participants will help guide the day. Registration closes at 10 pm Tuesday, 10/15.

Here is the schedule of our day — Sunday, 10/20 — times approximate:

* 9:45am to 10:15am — Arrive, enjoy light breakfast featuring our Dairy Delights, meet fellow workshop participants
* 10:15 to 11am — Table time: Discussion about things to consider when “Getting your Goats” and creating your own Home Milk Supply
* 11 to 11:15 — Transition to outside — grab a snack!
* 11:15 to 1:30 pm — Barn time: Farm Tour, Basic tools of the trade with hands on demonstrations of hoof trimming, vaccinations and more
* 1:30 to 2:15 — Late YUMMY Lunch!
* 2 to 3:30pm — Transition to Dairy Room! Cut the Curd and help hang fresh cheese in the making and then make gelato together
* 3:30 to 4pm — Wrap up, gelato, final questions, Dairy Delights for the road!

—— OPTIONAL —–

* 4 to 4:30 — back to Dairy Room to set up for evening milking
* 4:30 to 6:30 — Evening Milking — you can help (stay for as little or as much as you like)

COST: $75/person; $50 for second family member; $20 for enrolled 4-H youth.