Q&A

DEAR NEW FARM:
I am a small organic cheese maker, and I would like to know more about homeopathic remedies for small ruminants. Do you know a place to visit? To take classes?

Thanks a lot,
Francisco

DEAR FRANCISCO:
The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFANY) lists a number of homeopathic veterinarians, books, and other resources at http://nofany.org/certification/dairysources.htm.

The Maine Organic Farming and Gardening Association (MOFGA) has also put together an excellent page, MOFGA Reviewed Organic Livestock Health Practices, Products and Ingredients www.mofga.org/tech_larl.html, which lists organically accepted treatments under the National Organic Program, including homeopathic remedies.

Additionally, NOFA, MOFGA and other like regional organizations that support organic farmers often host workshops at annual conferences and field days covering homeopathic treatment of livestock.

The Northeast Organic Dairy Producers’ Alliance has a web site that features a section on holistic veterinary approaches (www.organicmilk.org/health.html). Even though it’s a dairy cow web site, the articles are broad enough to provide some help.

We searched the ATTRA web site and found a ranch in Colorado, el Rancho del Cielo, that offers apprenticeships that the owners say will provide educational opportunities for “goat husbandry, homeopathic remedies, cheese making, off-grid living and much more.” You can contact Dave Prather and Denise Bohemier at dave_prather@yahoo.com or dndnorton@excite.com for more information.

There’s also a book available to order through our online bookstore called Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable. By Juliette De Bairacli-Levy, the book is in its fourth edition, and gets rave reviews from Amazon readers. It focuses on natural management of livestock, and herbal remedies for health problems. To check it out on our store, click here.

Finally, there are dozens of organizations around the country that serve the needs of goat and sheep farmers. We feature a listing of organizations and web sites for meat goat farmers in this issue of New Farm, and there are similar support organizations and web sites for dairy sheep and dairy farmers. Some of them surely have information on holistic management of the herd. And be sure to check out our two-part series on an organic goat cheese operation in California:

California goat cheese, Part I
Respecting the individual ... goat, that is
California goat dairy Redwood Hill proves you can increase herd size without sacrificing management standards. The first of two parts on this successful goat cheese operation.

California goat cheese, Part II
Endless experimentation and a restless search for new and better cheeses
Part 2: Redwood Hill goat dairy made a name for itself in the 80s. Despite warnings from the Milk Advisory Board that the niche was filled, newcomer Capricious Cheese established its own unique reputation. This is the story of two very different goat dairies who found direct-marketing success with meticulous management and distinctive products.

NF

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