On Saturday I participated in this year’s MONADNOCK GROWN Farm Tour. Since I live in the Monadnock region, this was near and dear to my heart! The event was organized by the Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition. They describe themselves as “a 140-member organization who come together regularly… to build a robust, effective, equitable, and sustainable local food system throughout the Monadnock Region in alignment with the Healthy Monadnock strategy to increase healthy eating”.
They’d made arrangements with eleven farms in the southwestern corner of New Hampshire to offer farm tours. For just $10, you got a pass to all the farms. They also produced a handy brochure listing the farms, and with a regional map showing their locations.
I would have loved to visit all eleven. But, partly due to where I live (far northern edge of Cheshire County), it would have been ridiculously time-consuming to get to them all. I would have spent the whole day in the car! So I settled on visiting two of the farms: Bending Branch Farm in Marlborough and the Goodwin Family Farm in Surry.
Bending Branch Farm
Bending Branch Farm is a goat farm. They had friendly baby goats in a pen that I was able to pet. They had dozens of adult goats ranging in a field. They’re careful to keep the males and females separated, because having them too close together impacts the flavor of the females’ milk. They sell raw goat’s milk, goat soap, a variety of goat cheeses, and goat meat. I went a little crazy and bought some of everything! I bought a quart of raw goat milk, three different kinds of cheese, and a goat leg. All of the farm staff were super friendly and helpful. They also gave out free samples of their goat milk, cheese, and meat!
An interesting fact I just learned this week is that goat’s milk is type A2. This type of milk is more similar in structure to human breast milk and is easier for people with milk sensitivities to digest. All I know is, it was creamy and delicious!
Bending Branch Farm is a regular vendor at the Peterborough Farmers’ Market. Pro-tip: if you’re hoping to purchase a larger cut of goat meat, such as a leg like I did, they suggest calling the farm ahead of time so that they can be sure to bring it to the market for you.
Goodwin Family Farm
My next stop was the Goodwin Family Farm. It was more fun from a look-at-farm-animals perspective, because they had chickens, goats, angora rabbits, and miniature horses. They also had created a fun Bingo Scavenger Hunt game, where they gave you a Bingo card and an ink stamper. The idea was to explore the farm and stamp Bingo squares as you found the items on the card. They included things like “visit the baby goats”, “find an Angora rabbit named Poseidon”, and “ask Matt a question about the farm”. Matt was a member of the Goodwin Family. I bought one of their meat chickens in the farm store. They also sell vegetables, and Angora rabbit fur.
All in all, it was a super fun event. I really wish I could have made it to more of the farms, though. Next year, hopefully!!
