The first Friday of every month in 2026 is a calendar week; this week we are highlighting March 2026 from our Shalom Farms Calendar.

The Photo

Following the Hoofprints

There is a lot of talk about “finding your own way” in the world, but on the farm, I’m often reminded that the safest way is usually just following the feet in front of you.

This is Walter, one of Daisy’s Mini Mancha triplets from 2025.

As a cross between a standard LaMancha and a Nigerian Dwarf, these “minis” are known for being hardy and productive, but in a much smaller package.

In this photo, Walter is only a few days old. He’s still figuring out how to coordinate all four of those white-socked legs, and his best strategy is simply to stay as close to Daisy’s “tree trunk” legs as possible.

He doesn’t have a map or a plan yet; he just knows that where she goes, there is milk, warmth, and safety.

There is a lot of peace in just staying close.

The Power of Three

Walter wasn’t alone in following those hoofprints; he had his sister, Dorothy, and his bro Edwin to keep him company!

These three were so special that when a visitor came to the farm to look at his sister, Dorothy, they couldn’t bear to break them up and ended up taking the whole trio home together.

It’s a beautiful reminder that sometimes the “extra” isn’t a burden—it’s exactly what makes your story complete.

Spring Kids

Kidding chaos is right around the corner!

For 2026, we are selling our kids as bottle babies.

This means they’ll be ready to go to their new homes at just 1–2 weeks old, which is a wonderful way to bond with them while they are still tiny.

If you’re looking for your own “Walter” or a trio of your own, you can join the waitlist below 👇🏼

Join the Baby Goat Waitlist!

Raw Goat Milk Season

While we are still waiting for the first babies to arrive, the milk season is just around the corner. If you want to secure a spot for fresh, creamy milk at your family table, hop on the 2026 Milk Waitlist.

Go(a)t Milk?

The first Friday of every month in 2026 is a calendar week; this week we are highlighting February 2026 from our Shalom Farms Calendar.

The Photo

The One Who Stayed

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to “unpack my plate” lately.

On a farm, the temptation is always more—more land, more projects, more babies in the spring.

But last year, when the dust settled on kidding season, we made an intentional choice that felt like a deep exhale.

We decided to keep just one.

This is Pauli, our very first Mini Nubian kid.

She was born on a sunny day in the middle of June 2025.

To say we adore her would be an understatement.

The Mini Nubian Charm

If you aren’t familiar with Mini Nubians, they are a cross between the standard Nubian (her mom, Padme) and the Nigerian Dwarf (her dad, Bucky).

This breed was originally designed for homesteaders who wanted a smaller, more productive dairy goat for handling and feeding purposes.

Whereas the Nubian side gives sheer volume of milk with a high percentage of butterfat, the Nigerian Dwarf side gives the sweetest milk on the planet and the highest percentage of butterfat of any dairy goat breed.

With Pauli - we get the best of both worlds.

By keeping our herd small but intentional, we have more time to notice her specific, curious personality.

Our Growing “Long Ear” Family

Pauli isn’t lonely, though.

She has a whole crew of big sisters now!

Over the years, our herd has naturally shifted toward these floppy eared beauties; besides our three Nigerian Dwarfs, all but one of our full size does are now at least half Nubian.

Between our three purebred Nubian does (Padme, Pepper, Oreo), the twin Alpine/Nubian mixes (Star and Crunch), and little Pauli, the Dairy barn is full of these beautiful, spunky and chatty girls.

Pauli is our living reminder that “enough” is a beautiful place to be.

It’s that quiet kind of peace—the kind that comes from being faithful over a few things rather than rushing for the many.

Spring is Approaching at Shalom Farms

If you’re looking to add a little of this “enough” to your own life this year, we have a few ways to get on the list:

Spring Kids and Lambs

Kidding chaos is right around the corner!

If you’re looking for your own Pauli or big sister trio, you can join our Baby Goat Waitlist or our American Blackbelly Waitlist to have your own personal bundles of sunshine.

Join the Baby Goat Waitlist!

ABB Lamb Waitlist

Raw Goat Milk Season

While we are still waiting for the first babies to arrive, the milk season is just around the corner.

If you want to secure a spot for fresh, creamy milk at your family table, hop on the Raw Goat Milk Waitlist for 2026.

Go(a)t Milk?

The first Friday of every month in 2026 is a calendar week; this week we are highlighting January 2026 from our Shalom Farms Calendar.

The Photo

The Best “Flaw” on the Farm

On March 28, 2024, our sheep Hana had twins—Whitefoot and Pua. They were some of the most striking, regal lambs we’ve ever raised.

Being American Blackbelly hair sheep, they have a beautiful uniform coat that sheds naturally, so they never need to be sheared - which is a bonus for us.

Since we are registered breeders with the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International (BBSAI), we usually register every lamb that’s going to be used for breeding stock.

But as we looked closer, we saw the one thing the paperwork wouldn’t allow: a single splash of white on his back foot.

But Whitefoot said “rules, schmoolz”.

He still grew into one of the best dang rams we’ve ever raised—the biggest, strongest, and fastest-growing lamb of his season.

He went on to find a new home as an unregistered ram in North Platte, becoming exactly what he was born to be: the king of his own pasture.

What Whitefoot taught me is that we can spend our lives apologizing for our own version of a “white foot,” or we can just go out and be the best dang [_____] in the field. He is a living reminder to all of us that you truly can’t judge a book by its cover.

Whitefoot is our featured “king” for January in our 2026 Farm Calendar!

If you want a daily reminder to be striking regardless of your “flaws,” grab one of our last few calendars before they’re all gone (less than 10 left!).

Order Yours Today!

Hello, farm friends!

It's Lorraine again with our first Photo Friday for August.

Summer is hard for most of your local farmers, including us.

Between weaning and selling all the spring baby goats and lambs, taking advantage of more daylight (…by working on more projects), and don’t forget to sprinkle in all the work that goes into a hot hay season… we’ve got quite a bit on our plate these days (so pardon the breaks), but we’re trying to get back into sending you more farm updates with today's introduction to our newest big guy on campus!

Say hello to Big Beautiful Buford

First… remember Thunder?

Big Beautiful Buford vs Little Thunder

But just check out those horns!

So…we may have to rethink our plans 😬

We originally planned to have Buford breed with our full size girls (Nubian, LaMancha, Nubian/Alpine cross) this fall, but now we’re thinking he’s likely too big and are considering getting a few meat goat does for him to breed with and running him/them with the cows.

That’s one thing we’re learning about raising livestock - don’t be afraid to change plans when things don’t turn out how you think they will!

On another note, Buford is really coming around. This week he started letting me feed him grass by hand, AND he let me pet his nose… twice!

I don't know what it is about male goats, but I love them. Bucks and wethers both.

Most people 100% prefer the does (females), but I think its the fact that the males are not USED to a lot of attention/affection maybe. So when they get it, even just a little bit, they're 😍 and super sweet.

Well, most of the time, anyway…

But tell us what you think about Big Beautiful Buford and his massive horns!

Support the Farm with a T-Shirt 👕

Looking for a fun new way to support Shalom Farms?

T-shirts are now available in our online farm store!

Each purchase helps us continue our work on the land and with the livestock, and we appreciate you representing us if you are able.

Get Yours Here!

Hello, farm friends!

As we’re rolling out of the hustle and bustle of a holiday week, we’d like to try to bring you a little dose of joy from the farm today.

We are introducing something that we lovingly call the Baby Goat Vortex.

This is what is looks like to be attacked by 10 baby goats in a 12x12 pen.

(you can imagine the bruises all over our bodies from being stepped on, kicked at, and jumped off of by the tiniest of little hoovers!)

It’s a tough life, but somebody’s gotta do it!

Have you ever experienced something like a baby goat vortex?

Does this sound more like a dream or a nightmare?

Support the Farm and Your Skin will THANK You

Did you know that we make and sell our own handmade soaps, and they include raw goat milk from our own herd?

These Goat Milk Soaps are rich in vitamins and minerals, which makes them an ideal choice for people suffering with eczema, psoriasis, and other skin conditions.

Our mini bars are also great for testers and/or gift ideas for people with sensitive skin :)

We do not use any dyes or colorants, and list all ingredients on every single bar.

Our Recipes (click here to see the ingredients for each):

• G-Oats & Honey

• Subtle Lavender

• Rise & Grind Coffee (almost out!)

• Mango Explosion (seasonal - get some before it’s gone!)

• The Simple Stuff (fragrance free)

• Upcoming Summer Flavor: Orange Spearmint (keeps away🦟)

What are the chances you’d like to try a bar or two?

Order Now

Happy May, friends!

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and there are baby chicks EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK - including here at the farm 🐣

They’re still doing their best to grow big and strong, so here’s a few photos of them before their official “awkward” stage, plus a throwback to 5 years ago when we were building our first chicken coop.

Baby Chicks

Throwback to building a chicken coop in 2020

How to Support the Farm - at no additional cost to you!

If you've enjoyed a farm purchase from us over the last year (goat milk soap, eggs, raw goat milk, baby goats or lambs, grass fed beef, etc), posting a Google review would really mean a lot to us. Your feedback helps us grow the farm!

Please consider leaving us a Google review if you're a happy customer.

Thanks for supporting local farmers!

Leave us a Review!

Hello friends!

It’s been another fun week at the farm, so today we’ll introduce you to some of the regulars around here.

Esperanza

Goats

Sweet Skeet

Support the Farm and Your Skin will THANK You

Did you know that we make and sell our own handmade soaps, and they include raw goat milk from our own herd?

These Goat Milk Soaps are rich in vitamins and minerals, which makes them an ideal choice for people suffering with eczema, psoriasis, and other skin conditions.

Our mini bars are also great for testers and/or gift ideas for people with sensitive skin :)

We do not use any dyes or colorants, and list all ingredients on every single bar.

Our Recipes (click here to see the ingredients for each):

• G-Oats & Honey

• Subtle Lavender

• Rise & Grind Coffee (almost out!)

• Mango Explosion (seasonal - get some before it’s gone!)

• The Simple Stuff (fragrance free)

• Upcoming Summer Flavor: Orange Spearmint (pre-order some today!)

What are the chances you’d like to try a recipe or two?

Thank you for supporting local farmers!

Order Now

Hello friends!

I’m slowly getting back on track of sending emails out weekly, so here’s this week’s roundup showing you how much our goats are enjoying the grass from all of the recent rains!

Daisy

Padme

Ginger

Babies

Lots of Goats

Do you know anyone who’s interested in getting some super tame and well cared for baby goats this spring?

Forward this to them so they can reach out to us directly!

Hello friends!

It’s been a whirlwind of a week, so we’ll just get into this week’s farm photo roundup.

Round Bales

Leaning Pile of Poop-za

Weird Puppies

Did you know that we sell our kids our baby goats after weaning?

If you know someone who wants to add some baby goats to their home, please forward this to tell them about our Baby Goat Waitlist!

Baby Goat Waitlist

We would so appreciate a share to help get the word out about our baby goats.

Hello friends!

If you’ve been around for a while, you might remember last years update about Shearing Day, and this year we’ve only got 1 wool sheep left (Almond), as we’re in transition to 100% American Blackbelly Hair Sheep… that do not require shearing since they shed naturally like goats!

So let’s get to this year’s photos!

Shearing Day 2025

Did you know that we sell our kids our baby goats after weaning?

If you know someone who wants to add some baby goats to their home, please tell them about our Baby Goat Waitlist!

We would so appreciate a share to help get the word out about our baby goats.

It’s been a busy week with 5 new baby goats, so today’s photos will (appropriately) include them!

(ICYMI: here’s the Baby Watch announcements for Daisy and Merci)

We generally try to keep the mommas and their babies penned up in their own pen for 2-3 days before integrating with the rest of the goats - not only to help establish their bond together, but also giving the kids time to grow in size and strength so that they can quickly get away if needed.

Here’s a few photos of the little ones in the big girl pen!

Integrating Baby Goats

Did you know that we sell our kids our baby goats after weaning?

If you know someone who wants to add some baby goats to their home, please tell them about our Baby Goat Waitlist!

We would so appreciate a share to help get the word out about our baby goats.

We have our quarterly maintenance for the goats and sheep in Airtable (referral link) and we have our database set up to automatically notify us when it’s 2 weeks away from being hoof trimming time.

So every 3 months, we get an email saying it’s time to get ready for the big day.

We used to be able to get them all done in the same day, but now that we have 20+ goats, we choose to space it over the span of about a week or two.

Hoof Trimming - Goats

Have you ever trimmed hooves?

What was your experience?

Leave us a comment - we’d love to know!

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Since we both work full time jobs with slightly different schedules, Saturdays are the ONLY day of the week that we both have off.

What does that mean for today’s email?

Together, we get to scoop a lot of hay and poop on Saturdays!

Journey with us below as we give you some before and after shots of cleaning out our ewes pen.

Pen Before Cleaning

Pen During Cleaning

Pen After Cleaning

Now that you know how we spend most of our Saturday mornings, we’d love to know - how do you spend yours!

(hopefully doing something a little more fun and less messy!)

Leave us a comment - we’d love to know!

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After watching a video of a goat who loved bananas, we decided to try them out on our goats.

The consensus was that exactly 50% of goats liked them, but ONE goat became a banana monster.

This is her story.

Meet Padme

Bananas

[VIDEO] For your viewing pleasure

(volume down, as I’m being attacked from behind while starting the video)

Do you have a Padme of your own that goes crazy for a certain fruit?

Leave us a comment - we’d love to know!

Leave a comment

On Saturday we officially finished our goat breeding season, so we had to do some shuffling of pens by moving our buck back to the boys pen, 3 girls back over to the red barn, and 4 of the younger boys out of the crowded boys pen into a smaller pen for more space.

Rather than getting the truck and trailer ready, we decided to just move them individually with the Mule.

Girls

Boys

Have you ever moved an animal around in a mule?

Was it a successful trip?

Leave us a comment - we’d love to know!

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Animals

Chores

Soap

We’d love to know what’s going on with you, too!

Let us know what’s happening in your life this week in the comments below.

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