When we purchased our home in 2017 it sat on 5 acres. We were so forward thinking so we purchased the 5 acres adjacent to the land to protect our view. Our home overlooks the Grande Ronde Valley and we didn’t want anyone building in front of us.

Within six months of moving into our home we had built a barn and brought four Nigerian Dwarf goats to live on the farm. Goats are fabulous farm animals. The Nigerians have great personalities. They produce a very high-quality milk that we use to make cheese, soap and ice cream. They also require access to hay all year long. Turns out the lots we purchased to protect our view had much more value to our farm. We converted about 1/2 an acre to a garden. The rest we use as a source of grass hay and a habitat for wildlife. We harvest the grass hay annually. We keep what we require for our livestock and sell the surplus to cover the cost of cutting and baling. We are very selective about where we cut, leaving large areas uncut for wildlife. This time of year it is not uncommon to find very young fawns lying in the tall grass, awaiting the return of their mother. Last year we also had a turkey hatch out 4 babies and raise them in the grassy area.

We would like to do more grazing on the fields after the hay harvest, but because we do not eat meat do not raise cattle. If you know of anyone looking to lease a few acres please reach out to us at Almosta Farm.