Some of the biggest names in the Goat Milk Soap world (Zumbar for example) have moved away from milking live goats to using either powdered or canned milk or both.  We have been growing rapidly, so sourcing becomes more of a challenge to be addressed.  Rest assured, the one thing we will never do as long as we own this company, is to use powdered or commercially processed milk.  That goes against everything we believe in for creating premium milk-based skin care products.

Powdered milk has a very long shelf life, but the vitamin and natural enzyme benefits are gone.  Pasteurized milk is sprayed into a heated chamber and all water is evaporated instantly. The result is dried milk solids.  These solids do not dissolve evenly and the “feel” of the milk is not the same, nor are the moisturizing benefits. Without getting into a complex chemistry lesson, suffice it to say the milk is left with few benefits.

With the growth of our business, we are going to need many more gallons of high butterfat goat milk in addition to what we produce with our own herd.  The options are to raise 3-4X as many goats as we have now or turn to an additional source.  Raising more animals is intensely time-consuming for cleaning stalls, milking does, managing babies, keeping accurate records & more. More staff must be trained.  A farm can reach the point of expenses exceeding revenue with too many animals.  So, we have decided to partner with one of the top Nigerian Dwarf Farms in the nation to secure additional milk to meet the demand for our soap & lotion.

We have partnered with Lil Red Barn Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats in Muncie, Indiana. The Cassell family raises top-ranked Nigerians, and their does are stellar milk producers with very high butterfat. They have the 2018 ADGA First Place Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goat Herd which is pictured with this post and several other nationally ranked animals. If you would like to view their top-quality animals, visit their site HERE.

In order to partner with us, it was necessary for them to be under our umbrella and become Certified Humane. They were happy to meet the requirements and undergo the yearly required inspections.  Certified Humane examines all animal care records including the milk production records. Certified Humane verifies that the amount of milk that our farm produces, added with the additional milk from the Cassel farm, correlates with the number of goat milk products manufactured.  (soap & lotion).

We are excited about this partnership so that we can continue to bring you the highest quality goat milk available for use in our products. We already knew Lil Red Barn as fellow breeders as we have purchased breeding stock from them in previous years and several of our animals carry their genetics. Those genetics are what make high milk production possible.