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How did you get started? Dee Harley and her family have lived on the farm for over twenty years. By chance, Dee met Nancy Gaffney, who had a herd of about sixty goats in Davenport. Seeing the available pasture, Nancy asked if Dee would overwinter six goats. Four years later, this herd grew to include all of Nancy's goats. Nancy taught Salud how to make cheese, and retired from the goat trade. It was the perfect ending for her, and the beginning of Harley Farms. How old is the farm? The farm was built 99 years ago as a cow dairy farm. We will celebrate the farm's centennial in 2010! How many staff do you have? We have 11 full-time staff and a total of 24 employees, including high-school students and tour guides. How many goats do you have? Usually around 200 goats live at the farm. This year, we have 162 milking goats, 35 yearlings and three males. We expect around 300 babies next year, starting in late February. How much milk does each goat produce? The goats who have had babies are the milking goats. About a month after giving birth, each goat will produce as much as a gallon of milk a day. We milk them throughout the year, but their best yield is in spring after the babies are born. No! We don't milk the males, but you can try if you would like. Why don't you make aged cheeses? Aged cheeses like cheddar need to be stored at a different temperature than that in our small storage cave. This year, we will use all our milk to make our fresh cheeses and feta. However, we are working on an aged cheese recipe, and will have to find more space and milk more goats for that cheese. We have just been certified to make goat milk butter and ice cream. What are those structures that the goats are climbing on in the pastures? We house some of the farm chickens in "chicken tractors", which can be moved around the pasture to fertilize the ground. These tractors have to be sturdy enough to withstand the goats, who love climbing. Are those goat eggs in the shop? Yes. They are extremely rare and sell for hundreds of dollars. We might have them confused with duck eggs, though. |
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