Eucalyptus Magazine / April 2010 / Harley Farms

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Harley Farms

The San Mateo Coast’s goat dairy

Nestled in the coastal hills of Pescadero, 12 miles south of Half Moon Bay, Harley Farms is home to 200 American Alpine goats, whose primary task is producing the milk used to create a variety of goat cheeses and other goat milk products.

It’s also the home of Deborah (Dee) Harley and her family, who have lived here for 17 years. Originally built as a dairy farm in 1910, the property was dilapidated when the family took over, Harley says, but today the farm is thriving.

“It is very satisfying to look out the window and see something productive and real happening,” she says. A regular day on the farm begins at 5:30 a.m. with the milking of the goats. The animals are then let out to graze on the farm’s nine acres of grassland. Harley says that the salt-laden breeze and sea fog play an important role in the flavor of the grass the goats eat, which in turn impacts the flavor of the goats’ milk.

The goats return in the evening for a second round of milking, bringing the total milk produced each day to about one gallon per goat. At nighttime, they are sent into the safety of the pen, where a treat of grains awaits them. Harley says her farm uses “gentle, traditional farming methods, making it an overall good situation” for the animals that live there. The farm has 11 full-time employees, seven who live on the premises, and all the activities except milking are done by hand. Although Harley is the boss, she says she has worn many hats on the farm.

“I have done it all, the milking, birthing, and everything,” she says. Her focus now is on “the vision and development and keeping the farm alive and viable.” Harley says that although her company practices sustainable farming, she has chosen not to be certified organic and prefers to leave it up to her farm visitors to judge. Sustainable practices are apparent: Two big tanks collect rainwater to distribute to the goats. The machines that are used to cool the goat milk utilize recycled water, running the same 80 gallons through the pipes repeatedly until the water is finally released and used for irrigation.

The farm produces four different types of award-winning cheeses: chevre, fromage blanc, feta, and ricotta. Harley’s chevres are easily recognized in any grocery deli case because they are artfully decorated with edible flowers—johnny jump-ups, calendula, and cornflowers—or with bright green chives.

In 2009, Harley Farms won first place for their plain chevre log at the American Cheese Society Awards in Austin, Texas. Their fromage blanc landed second place in the “Cultured Products Made from Goat Milk” category.

Harley credits the land and the coastal climate for her cheesemaking victories. “You can’t make these cheeses anywhere else,” she says. “The feed and the grass have been the same and all the goats are from the same family… It has been consistent over the years and the cheese has its own flavor, or ‘terroir’ as they say in the wine business.”

The farm is often bustling with visitors, typically groups of school children on weekdays and gourmet food aficionados on weekends. The goats seem to enjoy the attention, and they often seek out affection from visitors (beware, they will sometimes chew on loose sleeves or purses). Harley says, “The agro-tourism part of our income has skyrocketed. It has been unbelievable, fascinating… People want a relationship with their food. They want to know where their food comes from.”

Farm tours can be scheduled on the Harley Farms website, harleyfarms.com, or visitors can phone ahead at 650.879.0480. Harley Farms also hosts multi-course lunches and dinners featuring the farm’s own vegetables and eggs, as well as goat milk and cheese products. The meals usually sell out far in advance; check the website for a current schedule.

Also read: Discover the Slow Life in Charming Pescadero

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