Farm News
Weather is always on my mind. I am not a “weather nerd;” I am a dairy goat farmer and farmstead cheese maker. My livelihood depends on the weather. For those of you who live in central Illinois, you know that our spring has been wet. In truth, it has been saturated wet, standing water wet, barn doors closed wet. The past 6-8 weeks of constant rain have prevented us from doing many of the essential spring activities so vital to our goats’ health and wellbeing. We have not been able to clean out the winter bedded pack from the goat barns. The goats’ ability to eat fresh pasture has been hampered by cold wet days, slowing the spring growth of our grasses and legumes.
The predictions of what climate change will bring to the Midwest are upon us. Farmers like us are on the front lines of adapting and innovating our practices so that we can do more than survive. We are designing our farm to be not just carbon neutral, but carbon negative! Our pastures and now silvopasture (browse trees planted in pasture) have the ability to pull carbon out of the atmosphere and store it in the soil and the perennial roots and shoots of the plants. We have been committed to these farming practices long before they were buzzwords (regenerative!!) or fashionable. On the eve of Earth Day, we hope you will nurture the planet with your mouth: eat PFFC goat cheese and help us fight climate change!
Happenings this Weekend at the Farm and Beyond
We will be open at the farm this weekend—Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm each day.
Come visit and see the baby goats! Shop our farm store, "The Real Stand" and sample some of our award-winning cheeses. Enjoy a cheese and charcuterie board under our pavilion with a bottle of organic and/or biodynamic wine. Want something warm? Try our goat milk hot chocolate. Want something cool? Try our delicious goat milk gelato! Take home some raw goat milk, goat milk yogurt or goat milk kefir. We’ve also got some great local products, including these gorgeous eggs from fellow AWA (Animal Welfare Approved) certified eggs from Joyful Wren Farm.
Can’t make it to the farm? Support our fellow farmers at the Champaign-Urbana Indoor Farmers’ Market (inside Lincoln Square Mall) from 8 am to 12 noon on Saturday. Organic Vegetable Farmer Blue Moon Farm will have a selection of our cheeses available. They go great with all the spring veggies they have to offer this time of year. Supporting your local farmers and local food economy are also great ways to fight climate change!
Here's the lineup of cheeses and dairy product you can expect to find in our farm store and at the CU Indoor Market with Blue Moon Farm:
Fresh Chevre: plain, herbs de Provence, cracked pepper
Mixed milk feta in whey brine
Little bloom on the prairie: Mixed milk camembert style
Angel Food: Mixed milk mini-brie (super luscious and gooey right now)
Fleur de la prairie: All goat bloomy rind with edible flowers and herbs (also super ripe and gooey—limited availability
Raw goat milk (half gallons or quarts)-farm store only
Goat milk Yogurt (quart size)-farm store only
Goat milk Kefir (quart size)-farm store only
Not local? No problem. You can order our cheeses and gift boxes from our online store. We ship nationwide.
Planning ahead: we will be attending the outdoor Urbana’s Market at the Square this season.
The opening day of the outdoor market is Saturday, May 7th, 7 am to 12 noon. Mark your calendars.