Academics by trade, the family began farming as a path toward a more ethical and sustainable relationship with the food they eat. They keep a pure bred herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats, every doe registered, and take part in the American Dairy Goat Association's Dairy Herd Improvement Registry and Linear Appraisal. The does have free choice access to alfalfa hay, varied forage, kelp, loose minerals and fresh water, with a daily boost of dried herbs, flowers and seeds, and protein rich grain feed only while they are in milk. A weekly herbal dewormer keeps worm loads healthy through winter, and chemical dewormers or antibiotics are reached for only when absolutely necessary.
Everything the dairy sells is raw and unpasteurised: goat milk by the quart, half gallon or gallon, a monthly milk subscription, kefir, soft spreadable chevre and dry salted feta. Alongside the dairy the farm stand carries free range eggs, sourdough loaves baked on Sunday mornings, sourdough starter, and seasonal apples and pears. Whole goats can be pre ordered for a November pick up. Milk and kefir are poured by appointment, cheese and eggs wait in the farm stand fridge and freezer, and pick up is in Philomath only. The family takes cash and Venmo and offers discounts to WIC and SNAP recipients, and to anyone else struggling to make ends meet. The name Eichenalm brings together the old growth oak forest of their first farm and the alpine meadows Sebastian grew up beside.
