Friday, September 2, 2011

goat sustainability....


Tonight, I am dreaming of fresh sweet milk, creamy goat cheese and warm snugly newborn kids.  And I am dreading telling Rick that today I placed an ad for "Goats for sale" in the Buy N' Sell. I have been thinking that I need to slim my herd down, to make room in the barns, and to shrink our feed bill.  With hay being $15 and more all summer, it is a necessity. So today, I made a list of who was staying and who was going. :(

When we decided to invest in this herd in the beginning, the whole idea was to make the goats help support themselves and the farm.  In lots of ways, they are already doing that, but now we want to take it to the next level.  Sustainability is about balance and efficiency. It's about making it work. The goats produce rich, creamy milk. The goatberries feed the garden which feeds us and also the chickens. The chickens give us fresh eggs and (maybe someday) meat for the table. To have the milk, you must breed the does.  When the kids come along, they are sold to new homes.  RIGHT!?

OK, I think I have convinced myself. Now if I could just keep myself from adopting any more cats....



2 comments:

  1. Watch for a FiddleSong Farm calendar available soon :)

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  2. Try the localharvest.com site, I think the listing is a free one if you are a member.

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