Harmony Lane Farm and Creamery, at 285 Harmony Lane in Smithville, not only turns out some of the finest Che’vre and goat fudge in the world, it is a fun time for the whole family.
The Review recently toured the farm, owned and operated by Mark and Julie David. Julie David said that while the primary focus is goats, the 64-acre farm is home to a dairy, pigs, and cattle, and has a pond stocked with six different species of fish. Deer, Canadian geese and Redhead ducks also call it home. Two dogs, a Double Yellow Headed Amazon parrot, and some chickens finish off the picture.
David said that she feels that it is important to raise her livestock without genetically engineered feeds.
"We feed the goats organic kelp from Iceland, they get organic minerals, and we have a verified non-GMO feed that is siloed in," she shared. "The non-GMO feed is about twice as costly as regular feed, but we feel that it is very important to be able to say our products are non-GMO."
She said that sometimes a little more work pays off with a aquality product, and that hand-carrying the goat’s milk to the pasteurizer is one thing they do to improve the taste of their products.
"We don’t have a pipeline system," Davis said. "We carry the pots by hand from the milking parlor to the pasteurizing room. With a pipeline, the milk is forced through the line under pressure, kind of like flushing your toilet. That can change the molecular structure of the milk, and make your cheese taste goaty. It’s a little more work, but the end result is worth it.
"We do a lot of showing. We are always trying to find the perfect dairy goat," she said. "We want a good show goat and dairy goat. They look at the udder and the teat placement, if the goats have east-west teats we have to go behind the machine and milk by hand, which is not very efficient. We have about twenty permanent champions on the property. When you’re showing a goat it’s 2/3 general breed character, and 1/3 mammary. One of our goats recently placed second in the nation."
The products offered in the store at the farm, as well as the online store at https://harmonylanefarms.com/, include cheese, fudge, soaps, lotions, and gifts.
"Right now we’re doing about seven varieties of Che’vre, which is French for goat. It is a soft cheese. We offer Plain, Cajun, Cumberland Cherry/Orange, Garlic and Herb, Smithville Spice, Chive/Dill, and Cranberry/Cinnamon. We’re making a goat milk fudge in dark and milk chocolate, and we do soap and lotion in different varieties."
She said that plans include more products in the future.
"I’d like to make a feta, and maybe a yogurt," David shared. "We would also like to do a chocolate milk in the future. We could do chocolate milk with a little bit of whey in it, and make a protein drink.
"We’re also going to bottle goat milk in the future," she continued. "That’s a whole different system, and we have some preparation to do. We have one Jersey cow, and we milk her every morning. We plan to start making some butter."
The store is a distributor for Kalmbach Feeds, and can order can kind of feed for just about any species, NON-GMO feed, organic feed, and regular feed, delivered to the farm every 3 weeks.
"A lot of people drive to Kentucky for NON-GMO feed, and they need to know there is another option," David said.
Store hours are 8-5:30 Monday through Saturday, or call 615-684-7659, for special arrangements.
The farm also sells to many stores and eateries, as well as setting up shop at numerous farmer’s markets.
"We sell to restaurants, and Whole Foods has reached out, and wants to buy our cheese," she informed. "We’re trying to work out the details now. Evins Mill buys a lot of our cheese. He gets plain and kind of makes it his own. Several restaurants are buying from us, and we go to farmer’s markets in McMinnville, Cookeville, Murfreesboro, Nolensville, Thompson Station and we go to Chattanooga every third Sunday."
Interested parties may contact the farm at 615-684-7659 for guided tours of the facility. Tours last approximately one hour and twenty minutes, and cost $14 per person, with children two and under touring for free.
Tour guides will answer questions and explain about the cheese-making process, and participants will have an opportunity to milk a goat by hand, hold and bottle feed babies (the baby goat activities are seasonal). Tour also include cows, calves, pigs, piglets, free range chickens, and a potbellied pig named Hamilton, who will do tricks for a reward.
The tours take place mostly outdoors, with a minimal amount of walking. Participants should remember that they are on a farm, and dress accordingly, in clothes and shoes that they won’t mind getting dirty.
Free samples of fresh goat cheese and goat milk fudge will be provided, and all of the farm’s products will be available for purchase in the store.
