About twice a year I make a short journey just west of Olathe to Landeria Farms where I buy the fresh goat’s milk for my soaps. Today was one of those days! The first time I bought milk from Kathy, she was milking the goats by hand in a shed that was barely tall enough to stand up in. Now she has a beautiful new milking barn with automated milking machines and a kitchen that she is getting certified to make and sell her goat’s milk cheeses. There are aging caves attached to the barn as well where the cheese will age for about six months until it is ready to sell. It’s a pretty slick operation! Not only do they milk over 50 goats, they are usually raising quite a few baby goats. They also have lots of chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese that drink goat’s whey. (Whey is the liquid that is left after the milk solids are removed to make cheese.) The collie and golden retriever make a great team against any coyotes who would dare to prey on the birds, and there is also an alpaca and some sheep. We always get a full tour of all the animals, and get to see the progress being made on the milking and cheese processing barn – which should be fully certified very soon. My younger daughter came with me today and got to hold a baby turkey! Turkeys will actually perch on your hand or arm like a parrot. Most of the animals are like pets and are very tame. In fact, all of the goats have names!

Later in the week I will show you how I make soap with goat’s milk.