SIGC | Big Picture Farm

“One of the things you learn when farming is that it's really hard to leave because someone has to be there all the time. So, in our first decade here we were always hosting people no matter what. And we came to really love that and became good at it. Feeding a crowd was really easy. You have this bounty of food - milk and cheese and vegetables and apples and honey - just so much bounty that it's sad not to share it. You want to bring people in.”

We’re in great company with Louisa Conrad, who with her husband Lucas Farrell, both artists by trade, started a small hillside goat dairy and farmstead confectionery and creamery located in southern Vermont, which over the years has produced award-winning goat milk caramels and farmstead cheeses.

Today, they blend their artistic craft and storytelling creativity with their passion for their place and products, inviting guests to stay and experience their Animal-Welfare-Approved farmstead firsthand, cozying up to 40 happy and healthy goats and other furry farm friends.

In this episode, Louisa shares how her love for seasonal sweets goes beyond the tasty treats themselves - nurturing the land and animals that provide this bounty and being the welcoming host who shares them with her worldly guests.

Top Takeaways

[1:55] Having grown up in Paris, surrounded by some of the world’s best cheese, little did Louisa know her career as an artist and teacher would turn into a confectionery and cheesemaker…

[3:30] What started as a side hustle - staying on a farm, tending to the sheep, and selling goat milk caramels at the farmer’s market - turned into multiple phases of purchasing the farm and building a family business.

[13:05] Stay on Big Picture Farm and listen to a soundtrack of roosters crowing, goats bleating, barn cats meowing, dogs barking, and frogs croaking from dawn to dusk.

[15:10] Why the story behind the name Big Picture Farm is a picture worth a thousand words.

[18:00] A day in the life of tending to goats has moments of excitement and ease…and a steady sweet smell of award winning and sustainably made, caramel cooking in the distance.

[23:25] Whether you’re coming for a family reunion or a couple’s getaway weekend, there's a quiet place for you to stay, sip a cocktail, and smile at some friendly goats.

[31:25] From sea salt vanilla to golden milk latte flavored caramels, from fresh chevre cheese to goat cheese soufflés, from warm crepes to goat nog around the holidays, Louisa is always crafting up something creative with goat milk.