We first met Mona Kanner when she made a comment at Claire Barker’s article – How to Milk a Goat. She mentioned that she had been raising goats for 26 years and she had recently gotten her first dairy doeling (Alpine) to add to her herd of 34 Myotonics. She graciously agreed to do an interview with us:
What are Myotonics?
I usually include their more commonly known name – Fainting goats. They are considered a meat breed but some people milk them as well. I have milked a couple of them. The one that was cooperative with me has a small udder and I was getting about 2 cups a day from her after her kids were weaned. I have another who has a much bigger udder and much longer teats, but she was so “dancy” I gave up.
I have some hobbles now, more experience and a better milking stand. So I’m going to try her again, after her next kidding. I know there are a few people who are trying to promote larger uddered does as dual purpose. I’m including some pictures of them. The white and red are does and the gray’s a buck.
What are you doing with the milk?
I am making products with our goat milk: yogurt (including frozen), ice cream, working on expanding my cheese repertoire, about to order kefir grains, and I’ve been making goat milk soap for years. I plan also to start advertising and contacting pets stores, veterinarians, etc. about supplying frozen milk for puppies, kittens and other pets who need bottle feeding. We are getting 4 1/2 gallons of milk a week now from our Alpine and it is way more than my husband and I can use.
Athena, the Alpine, pictured with a Myo kid, kicking up her “heels.”
What made you decide to raise goats?
I taught design and industrial tech for 22 years. But, from a very young age I wanted to be a farmer. It was the only job I was aware of at the age of 4-5 that worked with animals.
In my sister’s arms with our mother and Peety.
My love of animals was something I understood as soon as I was self aware, but living in LA was not conducive to having a farm, so I concentrated on my other overwhelming desire to create. I got a couple of degrees and a job teaching Wood Design at a great school in Pasadena, but living in a big city was just not me. So, before I agreed to marry my husband, Burt, I said I wanted 2 things – to move out of LA (actually completely out of California) and a baby.
Burt and Mona in 2010
The baby, Dak (Dakota) is now 27, a software engineer in Vancouver WA
Mona and Burt with family friend, Alex Kim.
I had bought a llama at an auction the year before we moved. They were expensive and prices were jumping like crazy. We boarded her with a contact, near Eugene, I’d made in my visits to Oregon, because Burt needed to stay one more year in CA. So, we had a son and stayed the next year. When we got to Oregon we bought more llamas and I was getting into fiber.
(2015) Indian Summer-“Hey would you guys just knock that off!” Sassy and Emily Bronte “chewing” on her wool
I also got some Angora goats. I realized along the way that I enjoyed the animals more than the fiber. I sold the Angoras not wanting to mess with the mohair, but I missed goats and got some Boer/Nubian cross goats. I decided I wanted to breed goats again. I went to a week-long goat care seminar in Texas. The woman who put it on, Suzanne Gasparado, raised Myotonics.
I learned a lot about goats and a lot about Myos. We got some from a breeder near San Diego. She showed her goats and told me how much fun it was. There were breed specific shows not far from us that she attended. I took the 4 kids I bought from her and did dismally. But, I didn’t give up. Now we are one of the top 2 (mostly top) breeders of Myos in the Northwest. The ribbon photo is from a weekend show.
I make/grow a lot of stuff myself, food, tools, farm buildings, renovate houses, cosmetics, herbal medications, pretty much anything I can.
The garden in 2010.
I wanted to try milking and when I wasn’t all that successful with the Myos I tried, I talked to a friend I made through goats who has Alpines. Her daughter shows them and does really well. We traded a Myo buck for a daughter of her best milk producer. So, here we are with another area to learn about: milking and milk products.
What kind of cheese are you hoping to make?
To this point, I have only made soft cheeses and mozzarella. I want to try my luck with hard cheeses. I am a member of a cheese group in the mid Willamette Valley that meets every 2 months. I feel much better about my participation now that we are producing our own milk and I don’t have to scrounge for milk or buy it across town at a health store for a bunch. So I’m going to try using a recipe. I’m not sure which recipe yet, I’ll be studying some this week when we go on a short trip to the coast.
I think after the next cheese meeting, I may ask if I can join one of the members when they make some as a second step, but I want to try it first myself so I have a better idea what to look for and what questions to ask.
The meetings have consisted of members bringing their cheese, and while we try it, they share info about it. They are all more experienced than me. We meet at different member’s farms – typically located between Eugene and Salem, in the Willamette Valley. (If you are interested in joining the group, you can contact Mona at mona_kanner@msn.com.)
Fall fruit trees
View with gold clouds
