
03/21/2023
Super chilly this morning, warm sunny afternoon, and the first batch of bloomy rinds draining- feeling like spring around here!!
Handmade artisan goat cheese Georges Mill Farm Artisan Cheese is a small, family owned farm in Loudoun County Virginia.
We make artisan cheese on a seasonal basis using milk from our herd of Alpine dairy goats. Our dairy is located in an historic bank barn that has been in our family for eight generations, and our goats graze over 15 acres of pasture. We supplement our pasture with high quality grain and hay, and are committed to producing cheese of the finest quality and connecting our consumers to their food. We
believe strongly in the power of real food, and in the need for a strong local agricultural economy and community. Come out and visit our farm to see what our mission is really about!
Operating as usual
Super chilly this morning, warm sunny afternoon, and the first batch of bloomy rinds draining- feeling like spring around here!!
Tickets for next weekends baby goat events are live on the website now! We’re expecting more babies this week so there should be plenty of snuggly littles, as well as the increasingly rambunctious older babies to play with
You’re daily dose of cute brought to you by Ygritte’s sweet doeling peaking out of the cuddle puddle
The babies were sure loving the sunshine today!
It’s snuggle time! The baby goat pen is officially OPEN for the season and the 12 babies we have so far are excited to see you (lots more coming later this week)! Weekday visiting is open 7am- dark, and weekend reservations begin this weekend. We will be doing both bottle feedings and private pen reservations for this weekend, tickets for those will go up this evening at 7pm.
One major change this year is that visitors now must sign in at the gate before entering- we appreciate your cooperation, it helps us continue to be able to do this! As always please read and respect all our signs, especially the ones restricting where you can park and walk- they are for your safety!
Baby goats are awesome, but you know what else is exciting? lettuce mix is back in the farm store!! We have alllll the greens this weekend- Swiss chard, kale, spinach, lettuce heads and lettuce mix, radicchio, and bok choi. It’s sure feeling like spring around here!
It’s a baby goat pajama party over here today!
More babies were born today, watch for a post Monday morning with visiting updates
Morgan kicked off kidding season with 2 bucks and a doe- it has officially begun!
We are planning for weekday baby visiting to start Monday (I will post to confirm that Monday morning), weekend visiting will begin next weekend March 11-12 and those reservations will go up Monday evening. Bottle feedings likely won’t start until the following weekend since we won’t have enough babies before then but stay tuned, we might squeeze some in next weekend. As always, no reservation or tickets are needed to visit during the week. Weekend reservations will be available on our website and I’ll post here once they’re live.
Kidding stalls are prepped, supplies are restocked and organized, milk replacer has arrived. Bring on the babies!
T minus 2 days to our first due date…
Our new milking system install is behind schedule and won’t be ready by the time we start milking this spring, but I did get the new laundry/supply room finished and organized and it feels so good. I can’t explain how excited I am (and ok, a little sad) that for the first time ever I won’t have a tub of baby goats in my living room, or have to mix milk replacer in my kitchen (not at all sad about that one)!
40 Likes, 6 Comments - Georges Mill Farm () on Instagram: "Our new milking system install is behind schedule and won’t be ready by the time we start milking this spring, but I did get the new laundry/supply room finished and organized and it feels so good. I can’t explain how e...
Hope you got some sun bathing in on this unseasonably warm day! The little girls were all out soaking it in, but the pregnant mamas were having none of it and stayed in the shade where it was cool- those babies put off some heat!
Kidding prep has begun in earnest around here, stay tuned for visiting updates next week as we get closer!!
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Have you tried Fireside Farm] pizza yet? It’s the most delicious pizza around and features amazing food grown and made here in Loudoun- veggies and wheat grown by Fireside Farm], sausage from and cheese from us and . They’re firing up their wood fired pizza oven tomorrow at and you have until till 7am to get your orders in (order through the Corner stores website under events, there will also be some walk up’s available). This green goat- featuring our chèvre- looks like the perfect Saturday lunch to me!
Forget roses, I want radicchio for Valentine’s Day! Veggies from are restocked in the farm store today and they are beautiful- lettuce is back, plus Swiss chard, kale, radicchio, carrots, turnips, and radishes
Valentines fudge boxes are in the farm store! Nothing says “you’re my chevrething” like goat milk fudge 🥰
Have to give credit to my 8 year old styling expert Mabel for the heart sticker decoration!
Those bellies are getting big! Just over 3 weeks till our first due date- baby goat countdown is on!
Aviva and Snowdrop enjoying some sisterly pregnant belly snuggles today
Picked up some pork from the butcher today which means maple breakfast links and bacon are back in the farm store! Plus, a new type of sausage- kielbasa links, yum!
We’re also fully stocked with fresh veg which this week includes: carrots, spinach, radishes, turnips, baby kale, and cabbage
We still have lots of cheese but are now sold out of gelato till spring 🥲
Waiting patiently for breakfast to be served. Since we don’t milk in the winter and the herd has now finished all our stockpiled pasture they spend most of the time in the barn eating hay, so theyre breakfast is the most exciting time of the day!
It’s cold and blustery out that- which means it’s a good weekend for keeping warm in the kitchen and doing some cooking! The farm store is stocked with everything you need some some delicious local meals- we may not be milking this time of year but we still have lots of cheese: bloomy rinds, feta, chèvre, tomme and blue. This week from we have lots of great winter veggies including radicchio, kale, cabbage, Swiss chard, spinach, carrots, and bok Choi. We’re also fully stocked with pork (except bacon, more soon), , caramel and eggs!
What are you cooking this weekend??
Due dates are on the calendar! I usually aim for about 15 does kidding the first 10 days of march, but 2023 kidding season is going to be more weighted to mid/late march than usual. That’s the way the timing of the does heat cycles worked out this fall, and a good reminder that I can plan as much as I like but the goats are really in charge. All in all we have 43 pregnant mamas- baby count down has begun! Who’s excited?!
Magical winter sunset
It’s apples and veggie restock day! We have Arkansas black and gold rush apples from and fresh winter veg from - kale (2 kinds!), radishes, cabbage, carrots, spinach, arugula, and golden beets this week. Low on chèvre but more will be stocked on Friday, and egg delivery is tomorrow evening.
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2022 was busy and eventful, stressful and rewarding, hard to believe another year (our 10th as farmers!) has come and gone. Thanks to all of you who have supported our farm this year by shopping at our farm store or at the farmers market, or coming out to see the baby goats. We are lucky to be part of such a wonderful community of farmers and people who appreciate local food.
2023 is going to be another exciting year filled with a new milking parlor and pipeline, virtual fencing, the 10th anniversary of opening our dairy, and other adventures. Happy new year!!
Can’t believe another year has come and gone. We hope everyone had a restful holiday, thanks to all of you for making it possible for us to do what we do for another season, we couldn’t do it without you! A huge thanks to for holding down the fort at the farm so we could get away to see some family and get some skiing in this week.
Now that Christmas is over we will be accepting Christmas trees for the goats again! We take trees from local cut your own farms ONLY- most lot trees are sprayed with preservatives and colorants which are dangerous for the goats so we err on the side of caution. Trees can be left at the farm store anytime, or message/call the set up a time to feed your tree to the goats!
It was 3* here this morning, -8 with the windchill but the goats were snuggled up in the barn, cozy and warm!
Power came back on last night so the farm store will be restocked and open this morning. We have lots of cheese, so if you find yourself in need of emergency eggs or cheese or coffee today, or even Christmas morning come on by!
We hope everyone has a cozy holiday full of good food and good people!
Happy solstice! Very frosty sunrise this morning on this shorted day of the year. Did you know great pyranees like Loretta are so well insulated they get frost on their coats on mornings like this?
Farm store is fully stocked with cheese, fudge, and veg, plus we just got a fresh delivery and we have plenty of eggs and last minute stocking stuffers and gift boxes so come by and stock up for your holiday meals!
Cheese supply update: We have stopped milking for the winter, which also means the cheesemaking season has ended- it doesn’t mean the end of cheese eating! Right now we still have plenty of millstone, tomme, bloomy rinds, feta, and chèvre for all your holiday cheese boards and cooking! I anticipate running out of bloomies and millstone sometime in early January, but we will continue to have chèvre, feta, tomme, and blue all winter long.
I’ll be at in Waterford today from 1130-230 selling cheese and gift boxes and giving out cheese samples so stop by and say hi, do some shopping, and pick up some delicious pizza!!
This poly wire fence may be a thing of the past for us- We are very excited to be part of the US pilot program for in 2023! We have no permanent fencing on the 90 or so acres we graze so putting up and taking down fencing is almost a full time job during our grazing season (April-December). Since the girls will have eaten all our stockpiled pasture and head into the barn to eat hay for the winter in the next couple week or so we’ll be waiting to start using the goat collars until spring, but we’re beginning our virtual fence adventure this winter with collars for the dogs. The livestock collars made by no fence can’t be used for dogs so we are experimenting with e collars. Doing some trials in the next few days to dial in the battery life (likely going to have to swap collars every 12 hours since unlike the livestock virtual fence collars they don’t have solar charging) and the precision of the boundary which we are going to match with our poly wire fence at first.
A fellow area cheese maker who many of you know and love from Takoma Park Farmers Market and other local markets has suffered a terrible loss, please consider helping them rebuild since insurance will not cover the full staggering cost of their entire dairy including equipment.
In the early morning of December 13, 2022, an electrical fire burned the Keswick Cre… Sharon Perrone needs your support for Help Rebuild Keswick Creamery!
Another fun opportunity to shop local this holiday- come sample cheese and wine, pick up some pizza, and find some unique gifts at next Sunday, Dec 18th. We’ll be there from 1130-230. added this to our gift box pick up locations too!
Today is our last market at for the season- Come stock up on cheese and gelato for the winter, and grab some gifts for the foodies and soap lovers on your list!
That’s a wrap! Our 2022 milking season has officially come to a close- bulk tank is empty, buckets have been washed and cleaned for the last time. This is not only the end of this season but the end of an era- these bucket milkers have served us well for 10 seasons, but if all goes according to plan next spring we will be milking on our new pipeline system!! We have a lot to do between now and then to make it a reality but I’m already excited to start 2023 with a new, more efficient milking set up. For now though, we are all (goats and farmers) ready for some rest.
Ella stickers are here! And I finally got the Ella shirts up on our website for those of you who don’t live nearby!!
The weather is looking great for Saturday so be sure to make plans to come by to do some holiday shopping while sipping delicious beers! We’ll be there with soap, fudge, gift boxes, caramel, Ella T-shirt’s, and cheese- plus lots of other great local vendors! You can also preorder gift boxes online for pickup there to make sure you get what you want (choose Wheatland spring lager days of Christmas pickup location)
Our website is updated and ready for holiday gift box orders! Orders can be made here https://www.georgesmillcheese.com/holiday-gift-baskets for pickup starting 12/9. We have some delicious options this year for the goat lovers in your lives. A few important notes:
While we are happy to ship caramel, soap and fudge cheese boxes are available for pickup only
We have 3 options for pick up this year- our farm store any day from 12/9-12/31, Lager days of Christmas 12/10 and 12/11
We will be selling boxes at Lager Days of Christmas and in our farm store (starting 12/10) but we strongly recommend preordering to ensure you get what you want as supplies are limited
11873 Georges Mill Road
Lovettsville, VA
20180
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It’s finally Princes favorite time of year- breeding season is here! This stinky guy will be busy over the next couple months, with help from our new buckling Belvedere and a visit from gentle giant Jameson from 56 Hooves making sure we’ll have lots of babies (and milk!) next spring. Mark your calendars- T minus 5 months till baby goat season 2023!
Saturday morning salting some baby Millstones #artisancheese #handmade #goatcheese #washedrind #georgesmillcheese
We got a new toy! Like many businesses we’ve had some supply chain issues over the last couple years, including having trouble getting a consistent supply of dry ice that we need to bring gelato to our farmers markets. So we’re taking matters into our own hands, and playing mad scientist by making our own! It’s gonna be hot this week- come get some gelato to cool down @wheatlandspring today 11-1, and @tpfarmersmarket tomorrow 10-2 #madscientist #diy #dryice #georgesmillfarm #farmersmarket #goatmilkgelato #farmsteaddairy
Milking time! The goats were out all night foraging in the field and fence lines, eating fescue and burdock, honeysuckle, poison ivy, and bittersweet and turning it into delicious milk. Later today I’ll start a batch of chèvre that will be finished and in our farm store on Wednesday- doesn’t get much fresher than that! #georgesmillcheese #farmsteaddairy #goatcheese #knowyourfarmer #shoplocal #grassfeddairy #brushfedisbetterthangrassfed #loudounmade #loudoungrown
The older babies got their first taste of the wide world outside the nursery pen today- I think the verdict was that it was pretty exciting, and a little scary #babygoats #growingup #farmsteaddairy #georgesmillfarm #goatlife
These babies are ready for lots of snuggles during spring break next week- are you?! Due to high traffic next week (April 11-15) will be reservation only and we will be doing bottle feedings every day! Tickets for private snuggle sessions and bottle feedings are now live on our website so make plans to meet your friends in the baby goat pen! #springbreak #babygoats #georgesmillfarm #babygoatbottlefeeding #loveloudoun
The formation of the cuddle puddle! #babygoats #cuddlepuddle #timelapse #babygoatlife #georgesmillfarm #farmsteaddairy
Ooo let’s go outside. Ohhh nevermind. Yup that about sums up everyone’s feelings about todays weather. We are still planning on events going ahead normally tomorrow but we’ll be assessing the snow situation later today and will let everyone know if anything changes. There will likely still be snow around either way so plan to bundle up and wear boots if you’re coming to the farm tomorrow! In other news, the farm store is stocked with veggies thanks to a snowy morning delivery from @fullcellarfarm #babygoats #georgesmillfarm #nopenopenope #springsnow #inlikealion
We had more babies born last night so we’ll be doing some last minute bottle feedings tomorrow, Sunday 3/6, and also Monday 3/7 because there’s no school! Tickets available here: https://www.georgesmillcheese.com/baby-goats-visiting-bottle-feeding Next weekends tickets for bottle feedings and snuggle sessions will be up at 7pm tonight. PLEASE remember to read through all the info on the website regarding visiting before you come. PLEASE obey all the signs, drive carefully on our road, and park in designated areas only #babygoats #bottlebabies #georgesmillfarm #thebesttimeoftheyear #thattailwagtho
Sound on for pregnant goat grunts! You can always tell that kidding time is getting close when it starts sounding like this in the barn. I think Brienne and Gilly more than ready for those babies to come out, I’m guessing they both have 3 in there! #pregnantbelly #iykyk #pregnantgoatnoises #georgesmillfarm #babygoatsarecoming #babygoatcountdown #doublewide #babybumb
It’s veggie restock day! This is sadly our last delivery of beautiful @farmfireside veggies for a couple months as they transition their farm operation to a new location. We’ll be filling the gaps until they’re back in action with some veggies from other local farmers though- never fear #localveggies #seasonaleating #loudoungrown #farmstore #georgesmillfarm #eatyourveggies
It’s goats favorite holiday- tree takedown day! We are once again accepting Christmas trees for our goats to snack on. A couple reminders: - We take ONLY trees from cut your own tree farms NO TREE LOT TREES (ie Home Depot, meadow farms, small local tree lots- anywhere that didn’t actually grown the trees). Lot trees are often sprayed with chemicals, we can’t risk it. - trees MUST be free of all ornaments, tinsel, lights etc - you can drop trees off at our farm store anytime (no appointment needed), or call or message me to set up a time to feed your tree to them yourself #goatseatingcheese #treetakedownday #goatlife #loveloudoun #georgesmillfarm #farmsteadcheese
Goats crossing the creek! Trying out a new system since our old creeks crossing spot got washed out in the flood this spring. Some of the girls figured it out immediately. Others, not so much 🤣 #goatlife #georgesmillfarm #farmsteaddairy #creekcrossing #overtheriverandthroughthewoods
Goat mating behavior is ridiculous. That is all. Happy Friday y’all! @56hooves @ddramby I think Jay is enjoying his visit 😉 #breedingseason #handsomejay #stinkyboy #goatlife #farmsteaddairy #georgesmillfarm
It was a cuddling and cud-chewing kinda morning #goatlife #babygoats #allgrownup #ringletthegoat #georgesmillfarm
It has begun! Prince is in fine stinky form and breeding started yesterday, which means the 2022 baby goat countdown has officially begun. Mark your calendars for 5 months from now folks! #breedingseason #stinkyboys #goatlife #farmsteadcheese #babygoatcountdown #georgesmillfarm
It’s goat traffic jam season on Georges Mill Rd! Our farm is cut in half by a road, so part of the year we need to run the herd across the road to access the pasture and browse on the other side, a twice daily migration since they need to come back to the barn for milking every morning. Shout out to all our neighbors who are patient with our brief blockage of the road! #goatsontheroad #ruralliving #countrytraffic #georgesmillfarm #loveloudoun #loudouncounty #goatscrossing
Headed into the long weekend like… #labordayweekend #georgesmillfarm #workingdogs #puppylife #goatlife
This weeks batch of skyr is especially beautiful, and it’s going to be a gorgeous weekend- perfect weather for drinking beer and farmers market shopping! Come out to @wheatlandspring farmers market from 11-1 tomorrow for beautiful sunflowers, delicious beer, and lots of good local food. #skyr #goatmilkskyr #georgesmillcheese #shoplocal #eatlocal #labordayweekend #weekendgoals #farmersmarket #drinklocal
The morning rush! Headed back to the barn for milking #milkingtime #georgesmillcheese #farmsteadcheese #loudoungrown #goatlife #workingdog #lgd
There are few things goats like more than a dirt pile! #queenofthemountain #goatlife #georgesmillfarm #dirtpile #becausegoats
Edith loves locust snacks! I’m always amazed by how efficiently and precisely they can strip leaves of a branch- while avoiding the thorns #georgesmillfarm #ediththegoat #goatsnacks #browsefed #farmsteaddairy
Milking time (aka breakfast time) from the goat’s perspective #milkingtime #breakfasttime #farmsteaddairy #georgesmillfarm #goatlife #dairygoats #loudoungrown
Milking time! The first step in the cheesemaking process- you can’t have great cheese without high quality milk! #milkingtime #timelapse #georgesmillfarm #farmsteadcheese #dairylife #loudoungrown #loudounmade
Rose showing off some #goatskills - these leaves are a good 6.5-7’ off the ground. Goats are natural browsers- they will choose leaves, trees, and vines over grass any day. Now that the hot weather is upon us and the cool season grasses in our perennial pastures are putting up seed heads we begin to transition the goats to a diet of browse- the vines and trees are fully leafed out and they can chow down on honeysuckle, locust, blackberry, mulberry, and many other species. Not only is this more appetizing to a goat, it’s higher in protein and minerals than pasture, and reduces their parasite load since most internal parasite live in the soil and get picked up on pasture. Plus we reduce heat stress because there’s always shade, and the high diversity of plants leads to lots of yummy flavors in our cheeses! The only downside is that browse is much less resilient to being eaten than grass, so we have to manage a lot more acreage to support our herd. Over the past few years we’ve been working on transitioning most of the hay fields on the farm “back to the woods” to provide more browse for our herd. #goatlife #browsefeddairy #farmsteaddairy #tasteofplace #georgesmillfarm #georgesmillcheese #goatcheese #terroir #loveloudoun #loudoungrown #loudounmade