Thanks to the kids, goat farm has taken off
Taking a family photo with young children is always a challenge. When you’re Jesse and Rachael Johnson, trying to include all the kids is downright impossible.
Over the past four years, the Johnsons’ extended family has grown to over 230 kids and counting. Only two of them are human.
Their son, July, is almost 4, while daughter Birdie Rue is just a few months old. The remaining 200-plus kids are a mixture of Nubian and Lamancha goats that reside at their Door County farm on the outskirts of Sister Bay.
It’s a busy time of year for the Johnsons. Kidding season (birthing season for the goats) is winding down.
They plan to keep about 30 of the girls to join their current group of 100 milking does.
A few of the males will remain at the farm, while the rest will be sold.
As newlyweds four years ago, the Johnsons opened the
Door County Creamery in Sister Bay.
With only a dream, a farm, a few goats and a refurbished storefront downtown, the Johnsons have created a boutique artisan cheese manufacturing facility, restaurant and retail business that has become a true family affair.
“We’ve tripled our volume from the first year we opened,” Jesse Johnson explained on my recent visit to the farm. “We now get over 130 gallons of milk daily from the farm. That’s up from just 30 gallons a day when we first opened almost four years ago.
“In addition to chevre, we have expanded our product line to include a wide variety of goat-milk based cheese, including our feta that is aged over one year and our popular hand-washed falltum, which is cave-aged on premise.”
The Johnsons wanted their customers to actually see where their goat’s milk was coming from.
Last year, the couple started farm table tours that include a visit to the farm, tastings of gelato and cheese, lunch and, of course, plenty of one-onone time to meet and greet some of the kids.
“Usually the tours are limited to 16 to 20 people,” Jesse Johnson said. “We start at the Door County Creamery where folks put in their order for lunch. Then it’s on to the bus where they sample some of our gelato and get some background on our operation on the quick ride to the farm.”
At the farm, tour participants are introduced to what he refers to as the “mommy and daddy goats.”
Then it’s on to the stars of the farm: those 130 does that produce all that goat’s milk for their operation.
“We walk people through the process of milking the goats, then let everyone pet a few of the babies,” he said. “At the end of the farm visit, we set up a spread of our cheese products, providing background on each one.”
After that, it’s back on the bus for the less-thantwo-mile return trip to the Creamery.
A long rustic farm table speckled with dainty bouquets of freshly picked flowers awaits the group (weather permitting) along with their preordered lunch.
The farm table tours will be available three days a week during the summer.
Exact days and times will be announced on the Creamery’s website in late May/early June.
The cost of the farm table tour is $40 per person. Individuals can sign up for the tours or purchase the Creamery’s products on its website, door countycreamery.com.
The Door County Creamery also offers salads, sandwiches and tasting slates at their downtown Sister Bay location.