We are blessed to have a small family farm in rural southwestern TN.
For several years now, our farm has been home to a variety of rare and
exotic breeds of chicken and miniature dairy goats. We enjoy the beautiful
brown, pink, white, blue and green eggs that our birds are gracious
to share with us, and the sweet fresh goats milk that we drink & use
to make our own yogurt, cheeses, butter & soap.
After considering several heritage and miniature breeds, we chose MiniMancha
& Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. We chose those breeds because of their
managable size, wonderful temperament and reputation for delicious milk.
Our minimanchas were on milk test last year, milk samples were tested monthly
by a certified lab, and each goats production was weighed and charted.
We were tickled when we learned out goats were delivering about 8% butterfat
and over 4% protein. Each doe's details are available on the goats home page.
It's so nice to be able to produce some of our own food rather than to
have to run out to the store for basics like milk & eggs. We've also
grown accustomed to the delicious goodness of our own eggs and raw milk,
so much so that store bought eggs and milk seem bland to us.
None of our milk or eggs are for sale, we're only producing what we
need to feed our own family and our pets. Besides that, in Tennessee
it's not legal to sell raw milk for human consumption or raw milk food
products like cheese or yogurt. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that
even it it was legal. We do however supply a few lucky individuals with
dairy goats each spring. Occasionally we have an adult for sale, but for
the most part we just sell kids.
I think that more people should become involved in producing their own basic
food items both to appreciate the animals that provide for us and the work
that goes into keeping them healthy and happy so that they can produce healthy
wholesome food for the family table.
![[Parham Farms]](images/2009Banner.gif)
