2013 Yellow Springs Farm Day One -Nick

Today, after we [Nick and Rosalie] arrived and had become acquainted both with the goats and the people we were working with, we began to prepare for milking. We had to fill the grain bowls and make sure the equipment was set up and ready to go. Since it is a small scale production, only 5 goats can enter the milking room at a time. We used two milking machines to effectively milk all 26 of the goats. 

After we had finished milking we cleaned up the room and the equipment. Then, we headed down to the pasture where the goats reside. We mucked out their stalls, refilled their water buckets, and cleaned the muck around the hay feeders. We got to see the baby goats getting their budding horns removed. It was a little sad at first, but when we got to hold the little baby goats it was all forgotten!

At lunch we tasted some of the cheese we would make during the week and it was delicious! When we had finished eating, we went out to the pasture, picked up 4 of the bigger kids (baby goats) and proceeded to take them over to Hollow Farm. There, we met 27 new kids that we put out into the pasture for their first time. They were fairly stubborn at first but they eased into it. 

Our final task for the day was a manure dump. We brought the manure from Yellow Springs Farm to Charlestown Farm. Charlestown Farm uses the manure for compost and fertilization of the fields. At the end of the day we bid the goats farewell and headed on our way.