Favorites

A few of my favorite things…

Local Farms

• Caromont Farm – Esmont, VA – A family-owned goat dairy owned by Gail Hobbs-Page and her husband, Dan.  A unique farm with a conviction to hold true to  the  basic farmstead principles of cheese making– sourcing no outside milk, using no frozen curd, and hand-ladling all cheeses.
• Chateau Z – Amherst, VA – A small vineyard with a special focus on breeding grapes and producing wine from grapes able to sustain Virginia’s climate.
• Night Sky Farm – Brookneal, VA – Grade A Goat Dairy that produces fresh and aged cheeses and soaps.  Also the home of my goats, Sweet Roll and Donut!
• Our Father’s Farm – Gretna, VA – A family farm with a focus on supporting local agriculture.  Producers of fresh chickens, eggs, beef, and milk.
• Polyface Farms - Swoope, VA – A multi-generational farm that supports pasture-based “beyond organic” agriculture.  Headed by the legendary Joel Salatin, this farm is truly inspiring!
• Shantara Acres – Pamplin, VA – A small farm that focuses on maintaining a small, manageable herd of goat s to produce wonderful goat’s milk, soaps, and lotions.

Blogs that Inspire

• Annie’s Goat Hill – Mary has a beautiful blog, full of beautiful soaps and educational tidbits she’s collected during her time with goats, and on this earth.  Full of practical advice and encouragement, I recommend you check her out.
• Cold Antler Farm – Follow Jenna and her crew of critters through their trials and tribulations in creating a small working farm.
• Environmental Studies @ Randolph College – A small local college (formerly Randolph-Macon Woman’s College) with a focus on the environment.  Home to an organic garden and a series of interesting speakers.
• Farmgirl Fare – Susan lives on a farm in Missouri where she raises sheep and lambs.  Her blog is full of delicious recipes and smile-catching pictures.
• The Houndstooth Gourmet – Ramona follows Northern Virginia farmers markets and foodie outlets, but the food she posts about are amazing.  Updated infrequently, but always a solid read – if nothing else, than to look at delicious foodstuffs.
• Life on a Southern Farm – This farm blog from Georgia with animals ranging from cows to goats to donkeys and chickens.  It’s always a delight to see what’s going on at their farm.
• Night Sky Farm – A Cheesemaker’s Tale – Follow Jennifer of Night Sky Farm to see what’s going on at the goat dairy.  Get sneak peaks on the newest flavors and scents of their cheeses and soaps and other goat’s milk products!
• The Pioneer Woman – Meet Ree.  She’s the city girl-turned-country girl that knows how to cook.  Her photography is wonderful, her recipes delicious, her insight lovely.  My sister turned me onto her blog, and it’s a daily must-read!  Try her recipes, or get her new book, and dive in!
• Rurally Screwed – Jessie is a self-proclaimed “city mouse country mouse” that lives in rural Virginia.  Her blog is a culmination of farm stories and humor.  Be sure to follow “The Great Eggathon” where she aims to eat a egg a day in 365 different ways!
• Sallygardens Smallholding – A small farm in rural Ireland with a family of farmers aiming to live sustainably.  Their blog is a wonderful mixture of information and honest accounts of farming.  Be sure to read the post about the runaway piglet!
• Shantara – Follow the story of my friend, the soap maker, as she creates beautiful works of art out of goat’s milk.
• Small Measure – The English family strives to find pleasure in the simple life while living in the mountains of North Carolina.  As a writer, Ashley will begin releasing a series of books in 2010 entitled “Homemade Living” – I can’t wait for their release.  A beautifully written blog.  One of my favorites.
• SpiderWomanKnits – Abi lives on a wonderful little piece of land home to a family of 5, a goat, a flock of chickens, and two alpacas.  Her knits are beautiful and her home an inspiration.
• Sustainable Eats – An interesting and informative blog of an urban mom transitioning from supermarket to farmer’s market to homegrown.
• Tiny Farm Blog – A small organic farm in Canada.  One of the first farming blogs I stumbled upon, and still one of my favorites.  A wide variety of veggies are grown with intense insightfulness.
• Wine and Dine from the Ground Up – My husband’s blog that follows our farming endeavors from his point of view.  Follow his interests in grape growing, wine making, cheese making, and other farming stuff.

Help for Homesteaders, Farmers, and those Supporting Local

• Culinate – An on-line community with recipes, forums, and articles for foodies and for supporters of local agriculture
• Hobby Farms – A wonderful magazine with information on how to live sustainably.  Their website is home to a wonderful on-line community and articles full of information.  We got the idea for our milking stanchion from them!
• Local Harvest – One of the first (and best, in my opinion) websites devoted to connecting small farmers with the curious public.  Find local farmers and agriculture in your area and connect with other farmers across the country.
• Mary Jane’s Farm – With a focus on women and simple country living.  Join the Farmgirl community and connect with other ladies (both local and not) with similar interests.
• Mother Earth News – One of the first magazines that focused on living in the eco-conscious manner, MEN is a wonderful source for a variety of information.
• Virginia Association for Biological Farming – The VABF is the primary organization in the state of Virginia that supports organic and biological farming and gardening.  The website is host to a comprehensive list of events happening in the area concerning small-scale farming, and their annual conference is always informative!

Dairy Goat Information

• Dairy Goat Info – An online community that is full of wonderful information, articles, and experiences on dairy goats.  Have a question about your dairy goat?  Interested in more information on liv with dairy goats?  Ask it here!
• ADGA – American Dairy Goat Association
• Dairy Goat Management Best Practices – Produced by the Wisconsin Dairy Goat Association, this book is offered on line – for FREE!  Information may be a little basic for some, but for those of us just starting out, it’s helpful.
• Fias Co Farm – This website is chock-full of information.  I swear, if you have a question about goats, this page can provide an answer.  A wonderful resource.
• Maryland Small Ruminant Page – A plethora of information on all aspects of goat and sheep care.
• WDGA – The Wisconsin Dairy Goat Association has a lot of information on their website!  You have to dig around a little, but it’s good stuff!

Feeling Cheesy?

• FUCheese – A group of friends making cheese together (and it looks like they’re having a delicious time) in the PNW.
• The House Mouse – A fun and quirky look at cheese.
• Lactography – Learning about different cheeses, one at a time.