Cypress Grove Chevre’s Model Dairy - Humane Certified
No Goats, No Glory: Just a few miles north of our Arcata, CA creamery lies Cypress Grove Chevre’s new model goat dairy. Managed by husband and wife duo, Ryan and Annie Andrus, the dairy is designed and managed primarily with the health and happiness of our herd in mind. Our animals have access to both pasture and wellventilated, naturally-lit indoor areas...not to mention enough space and time for loafing between milkings to make our cheesemakers jealous. Happy goats? We think so, and jokingly refer to the dairy as “the country club”. But don’t take our word for it...the certifying
body American Humane Certification just endorsed our new model dairy as “Humane Certified� with a 100% score.
Why a Model Dairy? For years, the American goat industry was every woman for herself...survival of the fittest. Many goat farmers came from third and fourth-generation cow dairy families, and considered goats to be miniature cows. These struggling families learned the hard way that goats are very different animals with unique dietary and medical needs.
The main goal for our dairy was to become an easily accessible source of knowledge for the American goat dairy industry, which is in its infancy compared to its European counterparts. To ensure that we designed and built the best dairy possible, we spent years traveling the world gleaning knowledge from those countries where goat husbandry is much more advanced. These countries include Israel, Holland, France, Spain, and Switzerland. Devoting this much time and effort while simultaneously making some of the world’s best goat cheese was a significant but necessary
commitment. A well-designed dairy would not only supply us with superior milk, but would also set the standard of excellence in North America while attracting new goat dairy advocates. It was a huge challenge, but certainly one worth tackling.
Construction is Complete...Well Almost Now that we have put that hard-earned research to use, we are finally beginning to see the results. Following our core beliefs of humane treatment, tried-and-true genetics, and investment in excellent feed, we are enjoying exceptional herd health. As far as we can tell, our goats produce more milk per head than any other commercial dairy in the United States. We’re now offering the fruits of our labor to other producers looking to grow and expand their dairying capabilities. As the number of visitors interested in learning about our dairy practices increases, so does our pride in knowing that our dedication to American goat dairies is beginning to pay off.
We’re still learning and still slowly growing our herd, but we’ve already started to make major contributions to American goat dairies by sharing: - Quality Stock: Supply breeding stock to other producing dairies as a means of enhancing their genetics, milk quality, and profitability. - Nutrition: Using a renown expert small-ruminant nutritionist to help source the best feed, and balance the diets of our animals. - Sharing Expertise: Our leading veterinarian helps us troubleshoot challenges, evolve our herd health plan, and assist with regular pregnancy scans and general health checks. Our veterinarian regularly visits all the dairies that supply Cypress Grove with milk, and helps to spread the information we learn from our model dairy to enhance their family farms.
- Scheduling: We work to balance our milking, breeding and kidding calendars to match cheese demands to produce the best possible cheese, and to ensure it is available when people need it. - Training: Other farms often send their farm managers to study Cypress Grove’s management practices and learn advanced techniques relating to: raising kids, feed efficiency auditing, genetics and data management, identification, worksite safety, milking parlor hygiene, and developing SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and HHPs (Herd Health Plans).
Cypress Grove Chevre is proud of its place in American goat cheese over the past 33 years and we’re excited about the future. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our company!