Glocester Greens and Goats -- Observer Life Article

Glocester Greens and Goats Gourmet Greens and Goat Milk Soap

Salad, Soap, and a Herd of Goats

Gourmet Greens and Goat Milk Soap

Gourmet Greens and Goat Milk Soap

Gourmet Greens and Goat Milk Soap

Gourmet Greens and Goat Milk Soap

Gourmet Greens and Goat Milk Soap

By Ron Scopelliti

The Observer
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Life Section, Page 1
© 2004 Observer Publications, Inc.
www.observerpublications.com

As they attempt to grow a home-based business, Carolyn and Ray Lapointe of Glocester are also growing a herd - a herd of goats.

The couple own a unique business called Glocester Greens and Goats that sells gourmet salad greens, unusual herbs, and other produce, including a cross between a strawberry and raspberry called a "strasberry."

Visiting their farmstand, however, customers may be distracted by the gentle bleating of a five-goat herd, which provides them with the raw material for their newest product - goat-milk soap. The herd should double in size in less than two weeks, when three of their animals give birth.

With goats generally bearing two to three "kids" at a time, it's a big brood for people who had no experience in animal husbandry before buying their first goat two years ago.

The Lapointes are apparently not alone in their enthusiasm for the species. The Dairy Research and Information Center at the University of California Davis notes a recent surge in the popularity of goats.

A report by the Center notes that this increase is reflected to a great degree "by the rise in the number of small herds maintained by individuals either as a source of income or as an avocation."

"Goats are particularly suited to this role," the report continues, "because they have minimal land use and attention requirements yet still allow an individual to become actively involved in dairying."

Goat milk is seeing a rise in popularity as a drinking alternative to cow milk and as the base for goat cheese and goat yogurt. Moving beyond dairy products, goats are prized for their wool.

They are occasionally touted as "alternative weed control," and kept by many as pets. And, though the Lapointe's herd may shudder to hear it, the popularity of goat meat has also been on the rise.

Carolyn says her fascination with goats began rather innocuously.

"I had been looking online, and I came across some pictures of miniature Nubian goats," she explains. "I just got it into my head that I wanted to raise goats."

The Glocester Greens and Goats herd consists of five miniature Nubian goats. They are a cross between Nigerian dwarf goats and full-size Nubian goats.

Minuet, described by Carolyn as the "leader of the herd," was purchased from a breeder in upstate New York two years ago as a milking doe. Two stablemates, Dottie and Melody, were purchased from the same breeder, but were not yet milking.

Since the family runs a farmstand, selling their homegrown gourmet salad greens, the goats offered an obvious advantage - a ready supply of fertilizer.

In addition to being an effective fertilizer, goat manure doesn't burn plants that it comes into direct contact with, unlike cow or chicken manure.

Carolyn, however, had plans beyond this. Over the winter, she started experimenting with recipes for soap based on goat milk.

"It's not that easy to do," she says. "A lot can go wrong."

After 25 tries, she finally came up with a recipe she liked. The previous experiments have since been shredded for use as laundry detergent.

According to Carolyn, goat-milk soap offers a number of benefits. She notes that it has traditionally been known as a skin moisturizer and rejuvenator, noting that the caprylic acid in goat's milk helps remove dead skin cells. She says the acid also helps lower the pH of the soap, placing it more in balance with the skin.

The soap-making process starts with a mixture of vegetable oils, butters, glycerin and almond oil. As this is melted down, Carolyn slowly mixes lye with goats milk. Too quickly and the process will go awry.

Next, the combination of melted fats has to be mixed with the lye/goats milk concoction while the two are at precisely the same pre-determined temperature.

The mixture is then poured into a mold, where it sits for a day before being removed. Each cake of soap then sits on racks in the basement, curing for six weeks before it is ready to be wrapped.

Stepping into the Lapointe's basement, the soap makes its presence known to the visitor's nose well before the eyes.

A wide variety of scents, added to the mixture by Carolyn, rise from the soap waiting to be wrapped. The number of scents is matched by an assortment of shapes, from simple, unadorned bars, to holiday shapes, to those shaped like a goat to reflect their origin.

With plans to start selling soap online within the next month, Carolyn has been so busy producing the bars that she hasn't been able to make an accurate count of them.

As they prepare to go online, she and Ray are also preparing for the arrival of a new generation of goats.

In order to keep producing soap, they must keep breeding baby goats, or kids. The females only give milk after giving birth.

Last Spring, Minuet gave birth to a male and a female, Fenway and Miata, after a trip back to the upstate New York breeding grounds. This spring she is pregnant again, along with Dottie and Melody who were taken to a breeder in Tolland, Connecticut "to be serviced."

Minuet and Dottie are due to deliver on June 30, while Melody is due on July 3.

Broods can range from one to five kids, with two or three being typical. Carolyn plans to keep one kid and sell the rest

"I'll only sell them to good homes," she says, noting that anybody looking for goat meat should look elsewhere.

For those thinking of becoming first-time goat owners, Carolyn recommends a pair of videotapes by British goat breeder Hilary Matthews: Goat Husbandry and Health, and Goat Breeding and Kid Rearing.

She also recommends two books: One Day With A Goat Herd by C.J. Stevens, and Your Goat: A Kid's Guide to Raising and Showing. Though geared towards children, the latter offers a comprehensive guide for those looking to raise goats.

For veterinary services, Carolyn notes that the Tufts Ambulatory Clinic in Woodstock, Connecticut makes "farm calls."

"They castrated Fenway," she says, referring to the herd's only male. One of the major reasons she recommends castrating males is to control their smell.

"Male goats stink," she says. "They urinate on themselves to attract females."

Fenway and the other goats have also been "disbudded," a process that keeps their horns from growing by cauterizing them when the goats are very young.

Without horns, they are unlikely to injure one another, or any human companions.

"Goats only have bottom teeth," Carolyn notes, "so they can't really bite you."

Though myth has long attributed the practice of eating tin cans to goats, most sources write this off as folklore. The Lapointes' goats have a different preference when it comes to snacks.

"They love pretzels," says Carolyn.

A visit to the Lapointes' confirms this, as they are eager to eat pretzel rods from an unfamiliar reporter's hand.

While not aggressive they are far from shy, anxious to have their heads scratched by visitors. Children coming to see Fenway and Miata when they were babies, delighted in handling the kids, says Carolyn.

One thing goats hate, she says, is being alone. They thrive on the presence of other goats, and also of humans.

"They're so tuned in to me - like a dog almost," Carolyn says. "They're wonderful, wonderful animals."

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