"Few foods are as complete as milk. It’s such a versatile foundation. You can make yoghurt, ice cream, butter, eggnog, pudding, custard, and kefir. You can drink it, whip the cream to dab on pastries, and of course use it as a primary ingredient in almost any baked item or casserole.

I grew up milking a couple of Guernsey cows and enjoying all these milk benefits and the obvious savings on groceries. Folks yearning for a more independent life often gravitate to a milk cow or dairy goat because few things create comparable alchemy on a farm. Rivaled only by the laying hen, who turns kitchen scraps into beautiful eggs, the dairy animal turns grass into marvelous milk. I call it homestead alchemy.

With today’s homestead tsunami sweeping the country, this desire for self-reliant dairy products is stronger than ever. Once the home garden is in place with its companion solarium or tall tunnel for season extension, and the backyard chicken flock established, the next most common addition is the dairy component. Although a dairy animal is attractive due to being both beneficial and functional, it’s also the most sophisticated of the self-reliance components.

For one thing, animals can move. Unlike an apple tree or tomato plant, these critters can cover a lot of ground if they take a notion. That cute, cuddly creature can turn into a galloping whirlwind in a minute. Secondly, dairy animals need constant attention. Goodness, you can even leave a backyard flock of laying hens for a couple of days and let their eggs build up in the nest box if need be.

But a dairy animal needs daily attention. A milking animal can’t “just hold it” for a few days. All of this means dairy animals are alluring but can be maddening in practice. For newbies, dairy animals are highly desirable but also highly intimidating. If your tomato plant doesn’t flourish on first attempt, well, you lose a tomato plant. But a dairy animal is a whole different thing. Lots of

potential problems, lots of potential cures, perhaps vet bills, even sleepless nights as you become nurse to a troubled partner. And yes, dairy animals are partners like nothing else. No person-animal relationship is as intimate and precious as the one that exists between dairy animals and their caretakers.

Coming into this special relationship requires a dose of reality and practice to coach expectant caretakers into proper protocols. If a dairy animal is a new space for you, walking in the shoes of a more experienced caretaker makes success easier. I love this book. I don’t say that lightly.

I think Morgan captures both the heart and head of a small dairy goat operation as beautifully as anyone who has ever tackled this subject. She doesn’t get bogged down in torturous discussions about whether to ever feed a goat grain, for example. In an experienced and straightforward way, she simply says “treats train.” Enough said. I believe a person who takes this book like a manual and duplicates Morgan’s regimen will be successful.

Once you’ve achieved success, you can refine and change as much as you like. On our farm, we instruct our apprentices “learn it our way first; then you have the right to suggest changes.” Using both her heart and head, Morgan is both loving and kind but also understands culling, butchery, and those less seemly but no less important aspects of a successful small-scale operation.

This book has no fluff. Yes, it has stories, but the stories are succinct and come to a bottom line that makes a sharp point every time. Morgan names her goats. That’s endearing. Not the bucklings. That’s called balance of head and heart. Anyone who has ever thought about raising goats—and especially anyone currently raising goats and finding them more frustrating than fun—will benefit from this book. May you learn from Morgan to enjoy your goats as much as she does. Let’s drink a raw goat’s milk toast to your success."