River’s Edge Goat Dairy practices sustainable farming
On January 4, the folks from River’s Edge Goat Dairy rose before the sun did and braved the damp, -17’C weather to make the trek from Arthur and set up their booth at the Kitchener Market, just like they do every Saturday.
Katie Normet, who co-owns River’s Edge Goat Dairy with her husband Will Makxam, highlighted the challenge of this routine a few days earlier in an interview.
“We have to be there every Saturday. Rain or shine, we have to be there. It could be an awful day for sales, and the roads could be bad, and we could have worked really late, but we have to be there.”
It’s easy to find River’s Edge Goat Dairy upon entrance – they’re the only dedicated goat dairy, and their display case is lined with toothpick-impaled samples: camembert, feta, a peppercorn infused creation and everything in between.
A few milestones mark the River’s Edge Goat Dairy timeline: the farm was acquired in 1999, the goats in 2001 and the cheese factory license in 2005. Since then, Normet and Makxam have grown the business, first, taking on the 18 hour days developing farm demands on their own, then hiring seasonal staff to help.
“You’d be surprised how much of the cheese making process is just washing, it’s a lot of work,” Normet said – she wasn’t joking. But the result of the laborious craft is a diverse product offering.
“We make fluid milk, yogurt, and about 25 different cheeses,” she said. “But not every cheese in every season, our goats are seasonal.”
Chevre is better with spring and summer milks, and something like camembert is better with winter milks, according to Normet – but this isn’t the only thing consumers don’t know about their dairy.
“People are very skeptical of what they’re buying. We spend a lot of time proving to people we are a real farm and that we use our own milk from our own goats,” Normet explained. “But once someone is a customer, they usually become regulars.”
Normet expects it’s the quality and taste that inspires customers to come back.
But from even a short interaction with Normet or Makxam, it’s easy to get the feeling that their passion for their practice and interest in educating others tends to draw people back, too.
“Everyone is putting up big barns or planting cash crops. We ditched that model and everyone thinks we’re crazy,” said Normet. “We have 80 goats this year, but we think we’ll downsize to 50 next year.”
“We go with the seasons, the cycle of nature and the sun,” she said. “Our goal isn’t to make a million, we don’t do it for the money, we do it for sustainable farming.”
Normet said next steps include sharing her capacity – offering up some land for someone to consider brewing beer, or planting a market garden, and offering up her knowledge to teach someone about cheese making.
But getting to that dream calls for support.
“Farmers’ markets’ need to be part of a routine. Without regular attendance, farmers will fail,” said Normet. “Missing a Saturday, or not making that $10 purchase might not be a big deal to you, but it makes a huge difference to farmers.”