Change in Emphasis

We milked our sheep, goats, and cows for more than one season and primarily sold cheese, gelato, and fresh milk.  For that last couple of years, we've changed our focus to breeding, downsizing some animals, and adding other.  We really enjoy our animals and farm life better.  Here are some other changes we're making.

Store-purchased milk is just not as good as fresh milk.  High-quality cheese is wonderful.  However, the time commitment does make vacation and life balance challenging … honestly, without much monetary reward in our very rural market.  Expanding to include the Spokane market would entail a substantial investment and expansion we didn't feel ready to make.  So, we've changed what we do.

We are still breeding East Friesian dairy sheep and goats for dairy qualities, temperament, and health.  The cows we breed are just a few Jersey (some crossed with mini Jersey) for sale to homesteaders.  We also have a miniature "clean up" bull when the females aren't successfully bred by AI so we don't have any missed seasons.  Our little bull is very small and half Lowline Angus, providing a good temperament and excellent beef qualities to his offspring.  We raise and sell these hybrids (and steer Jerseys) as locker meat to a local business.  We also breed and sell chickens in our area on a small scale.

Animals that we have added (or in the process of adding) are ornamental and exotic birds.  For a year or two we will build up our populations after which we will locally sell ornamental ducks and swans for private ownership.  We have bred gamebirds in the past, which we have really enjoyed, and are excited for this shift in our emphasis.  Please watch our "For Sale" page for some of the reliable same as well as exciting changes!