The Goats
Sweet Pea Ranch is a love story that started long before we found the ranch in New Mexico. It began as a love for chickens in a suburban backyard in Austin, TX that ignited a desire to live in the country. A love for a neglected piece of farmland that was found, then healed after we converted the property into a commercial goat dairy. It is a story that was written for and continues to be guided by a deep love for goats.
Bee Tree Farm and Dairy was the name of the Texas farm where we commercially produced goat cheeses from the milk of our own goats for six years until retiring cheese production in 2022. Bee Tree cheeses were the culmination of years spent learning from scratch how to build fences, battle coyote, raise dairy animals, and eventually how to turn beautiful milk into beautiful cheese. After closing the dairy, the goats remained the heartbeat of the farm as we continued to host public and private events, tastings, baby goat happy hours, and wildflower walks with the goats always being the stars of the show.
When we discovered Sweet Pea Ranch in Sapello, there was no question that our goats who are, frankly, members of our extended family, would join us on the journey north. They moved to the ranch along with their constant companions and loyal pack of livestock guardian dogs (LGDs), all of whom have acclimated well to the cool, dry climate at the base of the Rocky mountains. Although always close to their goats, the LGDs can often be found splashing in the nearby river and pond, while our obscenely spoiled herd of Nubian and Alpine/Nubian girls wander the forest and ranch grounds to devour the alfalfa, apples, ponderosa, oak, cottonwood and gramma grasses. But the sweet pea vines, which spill down the riverbanks and tangle alongside the pond, are their favorite treat. The goats live inside a 150 year old barn built to shelter horses but which has proven a perfect retirement home for these girls who have given our family so much abundance for so many years. While we do still breed a small number of goats and milk them seasonally, we will not return to commercial cheese production. Please contact us if you are searching for healthy dairy animals with strong milk genetics and personalities that can turn even the most caprine-averse person into a devout goat worshiper. We have babies available for adoption every spring and summer.
We were honored with some beautiful press about the Bee Tree dairy and farm in Texas and invite you to read below if interested in more information about the roots of the ranch:
