A month or so ago, my goaty comrades, Phoebe and Ryan, and myself took a little field trip to a friends farm in Mt Barker Springs, where they keep five dairy goats... We set off from the village at seven o'clock in the morning, to make it to the farm in time for the morning milking. We were full of excitement at the prospect of spending the day among goats and learning from those who keep them. Saul and Tamar have been keeping dairy goats for the last 20 or so years on their lovely farm in Mt Barker Springs. We were greeted upon our arrival by two very excitable dogs and kindly welcomed into their home. After some quick introductions we jumped straight into things, following Saul as he fed the cows and listening eagerly to what he had to say about goat fencing and structures. Now, to the ordinary ear this may sounds somewhat uninteresting, but to the goat lover and enthusiast, it was favourable information. Once the cows were fed and watered we wandered over to the goat shed, which also happened to be home to a beautiful flock of chickens and rather beautiful peacock. Whilst Saul fed the chickens and the peacock, the three of us got a glimpse of the goats and shared many grins of excitement. All other farm chores done, Saul began to explain to us the type of feed he gives to the goats, the milking process and how the milking stand works for goats with horns. It may look a little bit like the stocks, but I can assure you, this doe jumped up on her own accord and eagerly put her head in the bucket of feed (our visit had delayed her breakfast, so who can blame her!) Once in, Saul began to milk, giving the first little bit of milk to some very lucky dogs! After having told us a little more about routines and how to milk, I was fortunate enough to have a go. Having only ever milked a cow once when I was about nine years old, it was no easy task. Not wanting to hurt her, I wasn't having any luck milking her. After a few shots and some help from Saul, I milked my first goat, and hopefully, the first of many milks to come!
We let Saul finish milking the goats and then all headed back in side to chat a bit more and explain to Saul and Tamar what our project was and what we're planning on doing. Once inside, Tamar strained the fresh milk and offered us a glass. Fresh from the goat and still warm, it was the sweetest, most delicious milk I have ever tasted (and wonderfully easy on the digestive system!). We all sat down to a beautifully set table of homemade treats, nuts and of course, homemade goats curd and rennet cheese. We drank our milk and ate our cheese feeling most satisfied and excited that in no time we would be doing the same but with our own goats produce. Saul and Tamar were a little concerned at our plan to run the dairy as a cooperative; they worried that a constantly changing procession of people to do the morning milking would unsettle the goats. This is an aspect we hadn't considered before and something we promised to take away with us to think about and consider in any future planning for our project. As we said our goodbyes and jumped in the car, the three of us felt a little discouraged, it wasn't the first time that older, more experienced farmers had left us feeling dissuaded. It seems to be common trend amongst youth in agriculture and food movements, that because we are young, perhaps a little naive and unexperienced, that our ideas are idealistic and not do-able. I strongly believe that this attitude needs change if we are to see more young people enter the agriculture industry and creating change to our food system, especially for women, who are already at a disadvantage. In the weeks after our visit to the farm, each of us did more research into the challenges of having different people around the goats. A soon-to-be collective member suggested we wear a particular milking coat/garment that smelt the same to ease any discomfort the goats may feel. We also noted that this issue hadn't been brought up by other goat collectives. One of the main reasons that we chose to start this project coop style was because these days we all lead very busy lives, with study and other work commitments, not everyone is capable of getting up each morning at the crack of dawn to milk the goats for your weekly dairy products, and without forking out a decent chunk of your weekly pay check, ethical and sustainable sources of dairy are hard to come by. We decided that despite the concerns of our new goat keeping friends, we would proceed with our idea as a coop and find the means to make it work, whether this be through a buddy system in the initial milking months or through a milking coat, so be it.
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