More Than Milk: The Quiet Joy of Milking Our Goats

There are chores on a farm that simply have to be done. Fences need fixing, stalls need cleaning, water buckets need filling, and animals need feeding.

And then there are the chores that don’t really feel like chores at all.

For me, milking the goats is one of those.

There is something incredibly peaceful about sitting down beside one of our girls and beginning that familiar rhythm of milking. For a little while, everything else seems to get quiet. It’s just me, the goat, the sound of milk hitting the pail, and a few precious minutes together.

Time With the Girls

One of my favorite things about milking is simply getting to spend that individual time with each goat.

When you care for a herd, you know their personalities. You know which one is going to come bouncing through the door, which one wants an extra scratch, which one is impatient for her turn, and which one would happily stand there with you all morning.

But milking gives me a chance to slow down and really be with them.

It’s a time when I can look them over, make sure they’re feeling good, notice the little things, and enjoy the relationship we’ve built.

Sometimes I talk to them. Sometimes I pray. Sometimes I just sit quietly and enjoy the moment.

Those few minutes are a reminder of why I love this life so much.

From Our Goats to Our Soap

And then there is that beautiful pail of fresh goat milk.

When I look at it, I don’t just see an ingredient.

I see the goat who produced it.

I see the hay we’ve carried, the grain we’ve measured, the water buckets we’ve filled, the pastures we’ve tended, and all the care that goes into keeping our girls happy and healthy.

That milk is something we’re incredibly proud to put into our Rowandale Soap Co. goat milk soaps.

Goat milk naturally contains fats that make it especially wonderful for soapmaking. Those fats help create the rich, creamy lather that makes goat milk soap feel so luxurious on your skin. Milk also contains naturally occurring sugars, which can contribute to a beautiful lather, along with other components that make it such a special addition to handcrafted soap.

But to us, there’s something even more important about it:

We know exactly where our milk comes from.

It doesn’t arrive at our door as just another ingredient.

It comes from goats we know by name.

Farm to Face Means Something Here

We use the phrase Farm to Face, and this is exactly what we mean by it.

The journey from our farm to your bar of soap starts long before we ever make a batch.

It starts in the barn.

It starts with healthy goats, good food, fresh water, clean bedding, gentle handling, and lots of attention.

It starts during those quiet mornings and evenings when I sit beside one of our girls with a milk pail underneath her.

Then that milk becomes part of something we get to share with you.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about holding a finished bar of Rowandale goat milk soap and knowing the story behind it. I can think back to the goats who provided the milk and all the little moments that went into making that bar possible.

The Best Part Can’t Be Put on an Ingredient Label

If you turn over a bar of soap, you’ll see an ingredient list.

What you won’t see listed are the quiet mornings.

You won’t see the goat kisses.

You won’t see the conversations in the milk room, the scratches behind the ears, or the goat patiently chewing while I milk.

You won’t see the muddy boots, hay-covered clothes, early mornings, or the satisfaction of walking back from the barn carrying a pail of fresh milk.

But somehow, I think all of those things are part of the soap too.

Because Rowandale soap isn’t simply made with goat milk.

It’s made possible by goats we love.

And maybe that’s why milking will always be one of my favorite parts of farm life. At the end of the day, I may walk out of the barn carrying a pail of milk.

But I usually leave carrying a little more peace than I walked in with.

And that might just be the very best thing our goats give us.

From our goats, from our farm, and from our hands to yours.

Rowandale Soap Co. — Farm to Face.