Little Goats, Big Cheese!

Part of the lure of farmstead cheese production, for me at least, is the connection directly to the animals that produce the milk.  We were reviewing our most recent milk test results and WOW! This time of year butterfat is on the rise as the "girls" are at the end of their lactation cycle.  It's high at the beginning of lactation as well, and drops a bit towards the middle.  Our annual rolling herd average for butterfat is a bit over 6%.  This time of year we actually have some girls producing as high as 9% butterfat.  To put this in perspective, Nubians are about the highest producers at somewhere around 4.8% and other breeds tend to roll in between there and 3% or a little under.  Granted Nigerian's are smaller and produce less milk, but with higher milk solids (protein, fat, etc.) and considering their feed requirements Nigerians are quite the little milk powerhouses.  Cows on the other hand, require more space, eat a lot more, and on average produce between 2.4-4.5% butterfat.  Even the lovely Jersey milk is usually only in the 5-6% range. 

The quality of the milk produced by our "girls" is vital to the success and quality of our cheese.  We work hard to select cheeses that are suited to our milk type.  Currently I am pretty hooked on Spanish cheeses.  Our goats compare to the milk solids (fat, protein, etc.) of their goats, making our milk well suited to produce some of the Spanish style cheeses.  Watch for some exciting new Spanish style cheeses coming out of our aging room over the next several months.