Mystery Bay Farm is a small scale, family farm operating on 5 acres on Marrowstone Island. In seasons past it has grown organic spinach seed for sale to Organic Seed Alliance in Port Townsend and Tulips for sale in the local market. Since the spring of 2009 our focus has turned to a WSDA certified Grade A Dairy.

We produce farmstead, goat milk cheeses for general sale. In addition to cheese sales, we offer educational farm tours, seasonal classes and apprenticeships. While these tours and classes provide additional income to the farm, they also serve to educate and integrate the community into the farm. As career educators, we feel that there is a need to inform the greater public about where our food comes from and to provide a genuine experience for the growing number of people interested in artisan, non-industrial food production and farming.

We practice intensive, rotational grazing which utilizes classic grass pasture with brush islands; this mix highlights the natural need for browse in a goat’s diet and reduces the dependency on hay during the spring and summer months. In contrast to cows and sheep, goats are ‘browsers’ rather than grazers and cannot get all their necessary nutrients from a grass-only pasture. When given the choice, goats prefer browse plants, such as blackberry, roses, trees, ivy etc., which are more suited to their digestive system. Grass is consumed, but in a more limited and picky manner. We have established a rotational browsing system that incorporates the established high-quality grass pasture with edges and islands of brush (the native Nootka Rose, hawthorn, blackberry etc.) that can sustain the majority of the goat’s food needs for up to 8 months of the year. We plan to continue planting more ‘brush islands’ within the pastures which will include edible fruit trees surrounded by native berries and brush to further diversify our browse, natural habitat and food production.

Our friend and cheese ‘consultant’ Wil Edwards wrote a blog about our dairy beginnings for the cheese magazine Culture: The word on Cheese. Please check it out at: http://www.culturecheesemag.com/Wil_Edwards_Blog. (Please note: This link will open in a new browser window.)

For the 2010 season we are lucky to be helped by Becca Argo. Becca volunteered and helped us our a little bit last year and has returned for another season with the goats and humans here on Mystery Bay Farm. Here’s an introduction in her own words:

"Rachael graciously let me work with her last year teaching me the ins and outs of her goat dairy. This year I’m proud to be her assistant, trying to learn as much as possible about the art of cheese making and goat husbandry.

I haven’t always been interested in goats. I grew up in South Carolina where I went to college in Charleston, South Carolina. I studied journalism and Spanish. I wanted to travel and I wanted to write. I moved to South America and became a journalist in the capital city of Santiago. After two years I grew weary of city life.

Back in South Carolina my boyfriend Mark had fixed up an abandoned tree house in the woods. I moved in happy to live in the forest. There I cherished everyday waking up, fetching water, using our composting toilet and walking in the woods. We were scratching the surface of self-sufficiency. During this time I realized I had much more to learn about living and providing for myself; things a farm will surely teach.

Mark and I moved to Washington to become apprentices at Chimacum’s Finn River Farm where I fell in love with a sweetheart named Flora. Flora is a white la mancha doe who had bitter milk. No one else on the farm liked her milk so I began to experiment with cheese making. I sang to Flora during morning milking and danced in the kitchen while trying to create an edible cheese. I never thought I’d have so much fun playing with bacteria.

Rachael soon after took me under her wing, and has taught me how to love and observe goats, grasp artisan cheese making, and accomplish everyday farm feats. We shall see if I’m one day ready for a heard of my own. Meanwhile, I’m excited about this season’s cheese making (and eating!)."