My oldest daughter has had a thing for goats since she was very young–around 18-months old. Children’s passions tend to wax and wane as they grow and change, but her goat-love has followed her from her earliest nursery school days through her current status as a middle schooler. She badly wants to own goats and wrote a persuasive essay in 5th grade titled, “Why I Would Like a Pygmy Goat. She receives a goat calendar for Christmas each year and spends most of her time at county fairs in the 4-H Kids for Kids tents. It’s a thing for her.
So when a friend who knows about Stella’s affinity for goats introduced me to Edgwick Farm in the town of Cornwall in New York’s Hudson Valley, I knew it was the perfect place for a visit. Edgwick is a micro dairy and creamery that practices sustainable farming and makes fresh cheeses from their own goats. From February to April the farm welcomes visitors for a series of winter farm tours, during which small groups of no more than 10 people can meet the mature goats, learn about the process of cheese making, see the cheeses being made and best of all, snuggle with the new baby goats. This was going to be goat heaven for my daughter.
Winter is kidding season at Edgwick and if you follow their Facebook page you will get to see pictures of these adorable newborns as they arrive. I called the farm to arrange for a visit and upon speaking withTalitha, Edgwick’s proprietor, learned that it would be a few more weeks before the babies were ready for visitors. When I told Stella about the farm she began asking me EVERY DAY when we were going to go, frequently stealing my phone to look at pictures and watch little videos of the new babies.
Time to See the Kids!
Visiting day arrived bright and chilly with sunshine and blue skies and all three girls were bubbling with excitement as were my husband and I–who can resist baby goats? The drive to the farm took us about 45-minutes and we arrived just a couple of minutes before our friends, another family of 5, whom we were meeting for the tour. All 6 kids, bundled and clad in winter boots, bounced out of the car just as we were greeted by Cara, Edgwick’s herd manager. Cara briefly explained how the tour would work and led us up the hill to meet some of the farm’s bucks, including Henry, who sires many of the farm’s babies and Bianci, the farm’s friendly donkey.
photo credits (above 2 images) Dancy Balestrieri
Cara then brought us in to meet the milkers in what they call the Hoop House, a soft-walled quonset-hut type shelter. Immediately we were surrounded and nuzzled by the friendly milking ladies who were very happy to be hugged and petted by the kids.
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The highlight, of course, were the babies. I’ll let the images below speak for themselves. All I will say is that we were surrounded by snuggly, baby goat adorableness!
A Sampling of Farmstead Cheeses
Upon tearing the children (and the grown ups!) away from the babies, Cara brought us in to see Talitha in the creamery where we got to see first hand how Edgwick’s delicious, farmstead cheeses are made. Talitha had arranged a sampling of some of her cheeses for us while we were out enjoying her goats, and we tried two of her fresh chevre, the soft, spreadable cheese most people think of when they think about goat cheese, both an herb and olive oil marinated version as well as the plain version. Both were creamy and sublime with a hint of yummy tanginess. We also tried some of her goat’s milk ricotta as well as a bit of delicious feta and purchased several kinds to bring home. Edgwick is also approved by NY State to sell raw goat’s milk which can be ordered in advance and purchased directly from the farm.
The kids hated to leave, especially Stella, who had been forewarned that she would not, in fact, be heading home with a baby goat of her own. Because Edgwick is a smaller farm, they are unable to keep most of the babies born each season, finding them homes on farms around the region. Stella knew this from her daily reading of Edgwick’s Facebook page and I’m sure that even though she knew better, in her heart of hearts she was still hoping to leave with a goat. Sweet girl.
Edgwick relies on a large group of volunteers during kidding season to help with farm chores and to feed the babies. I so wish we lived closer so that we could participate in this volunteer work but for now, annual visits to meet and cuddle the new babies will have to suffice.
Follow the link below for more information about Edgwick’s Farm tours. It was a truly lovely experience, one you and your children do not want to miss.
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