She Created A New Career Right On The Farm

She Created A New Career Right On The Farm DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Gianaclis Caldwell and her husband Vern returned to her parents’ farm to start a goat dairy It turned out that was just the beginning of a new career Today she is an author speaker teacher consultant blogger and innkeeper as well as a cheesemaker and dairy goat breeder Caldwell says the diversity of their farm-based business has allowed them to grow without expanding their goat herd too fast for the land they farm She knows they could make more money by concentrating on making fresh chevre a soft goat cheese but she likes having something different to do every day The diversification didn’t just happen After 20 years as a military family her husband Vern retired from the Marines They expanded their goat herd slowly then built a small dairy and began to make cheese Today Pholia Farm has 70 head of Nigerian Dwarf goats on 24 acres They make aged raw milk cheese with names like Brown’s Gulch Hillis Peak and Elk Mountain The goats have been carefully bred for quality and productivity “It means we need fewer but it also makes them more valuable to others ” says Caldwell Vern has been a member of the state cheese board and is currently running for the national board Gianaclis started writing a book “The Farmstead Creamery Advisor” a complete guide to building and running a small farm-based cheese business 2010 Next came “Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking” the ultimate guide for home scale and market producers 2012 Her latest book is “The Small Scale Dairy” a complete guide to milk production for the home and market 2014 Her blog tackles technical subjects and issues like testing for Listeria and somatic cell count limits once-a-day milking and details about cheesemaking She shares information on everything from cheese mites that consume cheese rind to animal care and health milk and milking to creamery design and business Their farm website covers a wide range of topics It even offers detailed instructions for building a Nigerian Dwarf goat-sized milking stand out of pvc pipe “When we started our dairy we turned to the internet and a couple of books on developing business plans for small farms ” recalls Caldwell “For our situation advice just wasn’t there I want to share what we have learned ” Things she says she has learned include: • Have a business plan but be open to change • No matter how well you plan expect some poor decisions • Every situation is unique; you can’t anticipate everything • Evaluate current and growing markets and find the niche where you want to spend your life whether it’s farmers markets retail or other Caldwell says the business plan she and her husband started with was spot on in some areas but way off in others Mistakes made include using concrete block for the dairy building because she always wanted one like it when she was growing up “It wasn’t the best choice ” she says She also recalls ordering and planting 500 forage willows in an attempt to produce browse for the goat herd The fact that none survived was one mistake Another was realizing that since they were willows she could have bought one and planted more from cuttings Adding a Farmstay Experience was a major change and diversification The Caldwells installed a refurbished 1970 Airstream Land Yacht on the farm Like other aspects of Pholia Farm it does more than simply add another income stream for the farm “We like to see people come and stay and stay longer not just for our benefit but for the community ” says Caldwell “It puts money into the local economy We encourage them to eat at local restaurants and spend time in the area Urban people need the rural connection and they help us to not lose sight of what we have ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Pholia Farm 9115 W Evans Creek Rd Rogue River Ore 97537 ph 541-582-8883; gianaclis@gmail com; www pholiafarm com; gianacliscaldwell wordpress com Caldwell’s book can be ordered at Chelsea Green Publishing ph 800-639-4099; www chelseagreen com

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