Commercial dairies / artisanal cheese makers / etc.

[Michael Garwood]

I need help.

I need to provide some names of commercial dairies which use Nigerian Dwarf goats, either completely or in part, for their milk source. By "commercial", I mean enterprises which are proper businesses, either large dairies which produce milk only, or small family dairies, or cheese makers, artisanal cheese makers, etc. I do not mean hobby farms nor farms which work by barter. I mean breeders or dairies which  are principally producers of dairy products and have that as a reason for the businesses.

I am attempting to get the Dairy Goat Society of Australia to recognise the Nigerian Dwarf as a dairy breed and to create a herd book and registry for them. I have been asked by one of the committee persons to supply some names and sizes of commercial operations in the U.S.A. in which Nigerian Dwarf goats either figure or feature.

The only one I could think of so far is Pholia Farm in Oregon.

Any names, contacts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Michael

[Deborah Niemann-Boehle]

How exciting!

[Michael Garwood]

Deborah (and Rachel)

Thanks. 

I have contacted Gianaclis (among others) and she sent the following:

"Split Creek Dairy, North Carolina: Purebred ND along with other purebred standard goats (herd size over 200 total)

Quail Run Creamery, Oregon: Purebred ND only about 50 in milk

Mtn Lodge Farm, Washington, Purebred ND, La Manchas, and Nigerian Lamancha crosses, herd of about 100 total, but growing

Willow Moon Farm, Vermont, Purebred ND and LaManchas (and crosses I think)"

I will check Kush Hara.

I will also post further results here!

Again, Thanks,

Michael

BTW, it looks like we will implant some of the embryos in late March/early April, so the first Australian Nigerians on the ground by October??!!  If anyone wants to see what we are, this is our pseudo website/blog.

http://firstfleetdairygoats.wordpress.com/

(Please forgive the hyperbolic descriptions, especially of the bucks, but it is to dazzle the locals! Deb, my first buck on the page, Arnoth, is "nephew" of your buck Pegasus.)

The reference for the herd name choice is both for the fact that this is to be the first herd of Nigerians in Australia and to the name of the first boatload of British settlement officials, military officers and convicts to arrive in Australia and to take "vacant" possession for the British Crown of what turned out to be a continent (ignoring the aboriginal inhabitants, much like in America, the colonists ignored the land claims of the American Indians.) In Australian parlance, the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, and Jan. 26 is Australia Day, sort of an analogue of July 4th, taking place in summer here in the antipodes, and of Labor Day, because it is the big holiday before the kids go back to school in early Feb. following the summer vacation. So, First Fleet....

[Deborah Niemann-Boehle]

Kush Hara actually had a SARE research project on using ND goats in a commercial dairy. Here is the report:

http://kushhara.com/Kush-Hara/Home_files/SAREReport_1.pdf

Sadly, we're not a certified dairy. The idea of investing $100,000 is kind of scary to me! So, instead I teach cheesemaking.

[Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres]

Deborah, here on this forum makes aged and artisan cheeses on her farm. There are a lot of small dairy breeders that are not licensed, because they are small enough not to be. My herd is small enough that I don't have to be licensed to sell my raw milk. 

I would suggest you call or write the American Dairy Goat Association and ask for some names. They would probably be one of the better places that I can think of to get a good list. They have a pretty extensive herd registry. You might also contact Giannaclis (of Pholia) and as her if she knows of others like her. 

Here is the contact page for ADGA: http://www.adga.org/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&a...