New Member Mike W., Nassau county, FL

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,My name is Mike W. and I am located in the most NorthEast county in Florida (between ville, FL and the Georgia state line).  virtuallymike@...

I recently bought a few acres with a house and three " barns " in Nassau County.  I say " barns " because the structures all leave a great deal to be desired.  I imagine that I will build one really good barn in the next year or two to replace the existing buildings.  I am a member of the Real Florida Goat Association, and the Florida Dairy Goat Assn., the Florida Meat Sheep Alliance, and the ville Beekeepers Association.

So far, in Florida (as I understand the rules) raw milk / goat milk (and products such as cheese) can only be sold if it is labeled " not for human consumption " or " For animal consumption only "

So ( " my dogs " ) Love raw milk, and enjoy trying it from different breeds of primarily goats.  I do some trades with other dairy goat people ( so that the dogs can taste the differences among breeds).

Have been experimenting pretty successfully with cheeses lately too, and am excited about that.Currently I do not have any goats, horses, or sheep on the new farm (due to a 350' gap in the fence on my back field).  Got a lot to do with getting a  property back into shape.  The property has not been kept up for the last 7 or so years.

I've got LOTS of blueberry plants (don't know how many yet - - we just keep finding more and more as we clear more of the property), and I just planted 50 more blueberries.  Phenomenal blueberry harvest this year from the old existing plants.

I do have approximately 80,000 head of bees in my helluva hive (Do bees count as " livestock " ?), and just robbed about 6.5 gallons of wonderful gallberry honey from the hive.  Now the girls are all working frantically to restock everything with more honey.  Bees are so much less work than Dairy. . .Thankfully I don't have to milk THEM all twice a day. LOL.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to participating in the RawDairy group, and would like to network/share with anyone in my area.Mike W.