Last week we took a field trip to Kalona, Iowa, to pick up supplements for the goats. I thought that pasturing the goats and supplementing with grain and hay during the colder months would fulfill all their nutritional needs, but it turns out that this is not the case. Since goat milk has a high mineral content, higher than cow milk, the goats need mineral supplementation if their diet is not rich enough in certain elements. To fulfill these needs Christine gives the goats blocks of salt to lick, as well as powdered seaweed added to their grain rations. The seaweed and salt have to be mined and imported from coastal areas, so this practice is not sustainable. I would love to research ways to provide all the necessary “extras” with locally grown produce, herbs, and wild plants.
In addition to mineral supplementation, Christine makes sure her herd is free of parasites by giving them a combination of diatomaceous earth and an herbal de-wormer. The diatomaceous earth is benign for the goats, but deadly to parasites anywhere in the digestive tract. The herbal de-wormer, which includes garlic and wormwood, adds an extra punch, as well as extra flavor to the grain. The goats wind up having garlic seaweed breath, but they don’t seem to mind and they sure are healthy!

For the last several months I've been learning to milk goats and cows. One evening a week my daughter and I drive a few miles into the country to visit my friend's farm, where she operates a raw milk dairy. Although selling unpasteurized dairy products is illegal in the state of Iowa, her operation is legal because customers buy a share of the cows or goats, instead of the actual milk. As part owers of the animals, they are entitled to a share of the milk, butter, clabber, and cheese produced.

During this two week period, I’m doing an internship officially titled “artisan dairy apprenticeship”. It involves the milking I’ve been doing for the past several months, but with lessons in cheese making, animal care, barn chores, and media about the bacterial processes, culture, and nutrition of raw milk dairy. Can I just say, I love internships! Being outside, especially in the spring, rather than stuffed into some boring classroom is just the best way to learn.

The first part of the new things I’m learning is how to care for the goats hooves. Goats have cloven hoofs that grow slowly, but continuously. If they are living in a climate with sandy or rocky soil, as well as walking a lot to move from pasture to pasture, these get worn down. On Christine’s farm, the goats graze in pasture, but don’t walk very far, so their hooves need to be trimmed several times a year. Trimming a goat’s hooves is, indeed, exactly what you would picture. It reminds me of clipping a dog’s toenails, but with more surface area, kicking, and manure. Good dirty fun. Pictures soon to come...

Tags: raw dairy, unpasteurized dairy, goats, cows, milking, cheese