Henny Penny Farmette

Imagine the taste on your palate of warm figs with a dollop of goat cheese right off the grill, accompanied by a lovely California red wine. Now re-imagine that cheese produced by your own goat. This is my new dream.

For me, the taste of cheese and yogurt produced from goat’s milk is preferable to the taste of the same products made from cow’s milk. Lately, I’ve been considering the pros and cons of owning a goat versus a cow.

My list goes something like this:

Goat:

Smaller (easier to transport, shelter, and handle)

Eats less feed, therefore costs less to keep

Produces less milk (which is an advantage when your family is small and doesn’t drink much milk)

Goat manure is dry (arrives on the ground in pellet form)

Goats are great foragers and keep weeds and grasses  nibbled away

Cow:

Bigger (needs larger shelter and transportation)

Eats more, drinks more, therefore costs more to keep

Produces more milk than goats

Cow manure is wet (turns into dry “pies”)

Cows need pasture and feed (cows eat roughly ten times as much as a goat)

I’m thinking I’d need a farm to own a cow; but  for my little farmette, a goat makes more sense. As for choosing the type of goat; well, that’s another process. For now, I think I’ll pick some summer figs and melt a little goat cheese on top. Wine anyone?