LEEDS — Stacy Dexter was excited for Open Farm Day — and so were her 15 goats.
The Dexter family’s From the Country Farm has had goats on it for nine years, but it’s only been a licensed dairy farm for four years.
“It’s a lot of work, but I love it,” she said.
Along with her two teenagers, Andrew, 15, and Faith, 16, Dexter runs the farm and a shop.
Dexter bought the farm, which started as a hobby and grew into a business, in 2007.
The shop on site sells salted caramels large and small, fudge, feta cheese, soaps and lotions in a variety of scents, and three goat cheese spreads. All of the products are made with goat milk from the herd, and made on the property.
“I was given my first goat from my sister,” Dexter said. “She didn’t have the facilities to have them.”
She added, “They’re smaller livestock, rather than cows. And they have affectionate and loving personalities.”
Dexter said she doesn’t like to compare goats to dogs, but personality-wise, she said, they’re quite similar. “But you don’t want to say it’s like a dog that you milk.”
Even though it is a dairy farm, they do have one male goat as well. “Buckley, the boy, he’s more of a pet, because of Andrew.” She said the two really bonded when they were young and she couldn’t resist keeping him.
Dexter’s goats were indeed filled with personality, each clamoring to be the center of attention as a newcomer walked by.
One goat in particular, Trevy, tried to eat my notepad. And my name tag. And my hair tie. And my hand.
Dexter said that on a normal day, they get up at 6 a.m. to start taking care of the goats and get the farm work done.
“We’re a slightly less than well-cogged wheel,” she joked.
Faith and Andrew are home-schooled and both work hard on the farm and in the shop.
“Faith does more of the secretarial stuff, and Andrew does more of the manual,” their mother said.
Andrew said he really enjoys farm life, and his goal is to move to Montana when he’s older and have his own, bigger, farm.
“We love what we do, and want to keep doing it,” he said.
This was Dexter’s third Open Farm Day, and she said people come from all over for the event. “Some people come from Vermont. Last year we even had a couple from England. They were here on vacation.”
Plenty of people from close by came, too, as more than 80 farms opened their yards and barns to the public Sunday.
“I’m impressed with the amount of people who come out and support local farms,” Dexter said. “They vote with their decision to buy local.”
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