If you’ve tasted the goat chèvre on our menu, you know first-hand the incredible product being churned at Whispering Springs Farm. The 90 acre farmstead is located in Montpelier, VA (just 5 minutes up the road from our packing facility), and is home to 5 goats, 10 chickens, more than a dozen cows, a handful of horses, and some honey producing bee-hives. The farm is managed daily by Stacey, her husband Steve, and their two children.
Whispering Springs Farm, as a business, was born on accident. Stacey was simply looking for a solution to her children’s lactose intolerance (goat milk is much more easily digested by folks with lactose sensitivities.) She quickly acquired 4 dairy goats, and she started milking for her family’s personal consumption. She tried her hand at cheese, yogurt, ice-cream and used any surplus to create goat milk soap. In 2013 Stacey gave her family and friends goat-milk soap as gifts. After trying it, they were hooked and her friends started requesting goat-milk soap on a regular basis. The business was born to meet demand.
Stacey is no stranger to the kitchen – she also works as a personal chef. She has perfected the 24 hour goat chèvre process, the 30 day goat feta aging cycle, and is excited to bring hard cheeses to Seasonal Roots Members later this season. Goat cheese is a regular part of Stacey’s own diet. She often uses it in place of cream cheese and even makes a goat-cheese cheesecake that is a favorite of her family.
While Stacey loves farmers markets, using them as an outlet for her farm’s products just doesn’t work for her. Spending her entire weekend working at a market takes away from time that could be better spent at the farm and with her family. Stacey said that Seasonal Roots has been really beneficial for her farm and her family’s operations. She wants her customers (you!) to know that your farmers are people too, and that her animals are part of the team. So, next time you dig into your local goat chèvre, know that it was hand-crafted with love by Stacey using milk from her team: Sheba, Louisa, Reva, Ruby and Coco.
About Seasonal Roots
Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our neighborhood market managers – who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grass fed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.