Black Mesa Ranch
Snowflake, Arizona, USA
Artisan Cheese
Nubian Goats
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Candy Information and Online Ordering Page
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Updated!
6/07: We have revamped our Ranch Workshop Packages!
In addition to our one and three-day cheese making and goat management workshops learn about our free open- house days and lodging accommodations.
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Award Winning Artisan Goat Cheeses
4 Awards 2005 ADGA National Competition
3 Awards 2004 ADGA National Competition
2 Awards 2005 ADGA National Competition
2 Awards 2004 ADGA National Competition
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Click here to read the online version of Kathryn's booklet
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This site last updated:
March 29, 2008
© 2000-2008 Black Mesa Ranch Inc. All Rights Reserved
Arizona Grown!
Arizona's ONLY Certified Dairy specializing in fine Farmstead Artisan Cheeses!
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Black Mesa Ranch Snowflake Arizona, USA Farmstead Artisan Goat Cheeses * Exquisite Handcrafted Candies and other Fine Homestead Products * Exceptional Registered Nubian Dairy Goats * |
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Nestled at the base of Black Mesa in the beautiful White Mountains of Arizona about 9 miles due east of the historic pioneer town of Snowflake, we (the owners Kathryn and David) work towards rehabilitating and improving this long-abandoned 280-acre "off-grid" homestead property with an eye toward self-sufficiency and a plan for sustainability. This web site documents our continuing plans, progress, pitfalls and projects.
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Recent Happenings at the Ranch UPDATED 5/9/08 |
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2008 Kidding Update: 5/8/08
Our very successful kidding season has come to a close.
David gets mobbed by Cory's quintuplets at feeding time 5/8/08 With today's kidding of Langley, that brings to 29 the number of does who have kidded here this spring with a total of 60 kids (26 doelings, 34 bucklings) so far. For detailed information on our breedings and to read Kathryn's 2008 Kidding Diary, click here. |
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New Arrivals
The BMR Herd Gets a New Look!
Lutzi (left) and Moon on their first day at BMR 3/20/08 BMR would like to welcome two new arrivals to the ranch! Two Oberhasli does have come to join our milking team. SG Sir Echo Full Moon 3*M and SG Sir Echo Lutzi 5*M are from the award winning Sir Echo herd in Tucson, Arizona. Oberhaslis are a Swiss breed, with upright ears and dished faces – quite a contrast to our floppy eared, roman nosed Nubians. Soon we will get more information about these lovely girls up on our web site, but for now we just want to introduce them and give them a big show of support. We look forward to getting to know Moon and Lutzi. Thank you, Sandy VanEcho for letting them come to the ranch. |
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In brief: BMR herd tests CAE free 2/29/08 Once again our herd has tested 100% CAE free. We test every goat every year just prior to kidding (we pulled and submitted blood samples from 35 goats this year). With the test results in, we can feed our kids delicious raw milk with all it’s benefits, instead of having to pasteurize it to prevent CAE. CAE is an incurable, debilitating disease that is passed on most frequently dam-to-kid through milk and colostrum. Keeping our goats free of this disease is one of our top priorities, not only because the disease decreases production but because of the suffering it can cause the goats afflicted with it. |
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New Arrivals
Bertie and Heath Calve!
"Hamby" and "Boomer" 2/14/08 Heath and Bertie our two Belted Galloway Cows have calved. Heath calved on 1/23 with "Hamby" and Bertie on 2/9 with "Boomer". Both had healthy little active Dexter/Beltie cross bull calves, giving us the record of having 7 out of the last 7 calves born here be boys.
We'll be selling one of these boys (for sire or steaks!) at $400 if taken before mid-May 2008 (weaning time). We also have a yearling Dexter/Beltie cross steer for sale at this time. Email or call Kathryn for more info (928) 536-7759 |
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2008 BMR Wall Calendar 1/1/08 Once again we're offering our custom wall calendar with dozens of scenes of life on the Ranch. They are beautiful, glossy and a big 11"x17" and are available at just $5 each, plus shipping . You can order directly from us (shipping $2.50 for any quantity sent to the same address) by contacting David or from our store at CafePress.com |
Merchandise
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It's a Wrap!
BMR Closes for the Season 12/23/07 As a seasonal operation it is with mixed emotions we come to the end of our annual cycle. "The Girls" are done milking and can now concentrate on building their kids. There is no more milk with which to make cheese and all of this year's cheese has been sold. The Holiday Season is drawing to a close and the candy-making is over for another year. We've held our last ranch open-house until next spring. It is time for us to reflect on another wonderful year at BMR, rejuvenate a little before kidding season begins in March, and (yes) take some time to get done some of those "honey-do" projects that have accumulated all year. Thank-you to all of our loyal and valued customers for a great 2007 and best wishes for an even better 2008! |
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New Arrival
Belle Calves! 12/17/07 Belle, one of our Dexter cows, calved on 12/15 and while we've seen them out cavorting on the range together, today was the first day she brought her calf in with her at feeding time, and the first chance we've had to get a good look at him. Yup, another bull calf, making us (well, the cows actually) 5 for 5 in building boys this year. For now, we're calling him "Dinner Belle". "Dinner" is for sale as a pure-bred Dexter bull at $400 if taken before March 15th 2008 (weaning time). Call Kathryn for more info (928) 536-7759 |
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More Exciting News From the Herd
BMR "Superior Genetics Does" Announced by ADGA 11/11/07 Congratulations to our girls, Edie, Penny, Poppy, Pepper, Cinnamon, and Espeez for being named Superior Genetics Does by the American Dairy Goat Association. The SG (Superior Genetics) title is given only to does that have a combination of great conformation, milking ability, and genetics. Once again (and it just never gets old!) we congratulate our goats for their achievements.
Way to go, girls!! |
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Chef's Spotlight
Pastry Chef Tracy Dempsey featured at the James Beard House 9/8/2707 Congratulations to Chef Dempsey who will be doing the breads and pastries for a dinner this week at the famed James Beard House in NYC. Tracy who works for Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale AZ will be participating with Bernie Kantak, JBF Award Winner Nobuo Fukuda and others in preparing an impressive menu (click here for details) which will include Black Mesa Ranch's Fresh Goat Cheese. Keep up the great work Tracy, we're proud to be one of your local providers |
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News From the Herd
BMR "Elite Does" Announced by ADGA 8/9/07 Congratulations to our girls, Pepper, Cinnamon, and Espeez for being named Elite Does by the USDA. They are in the top 5% of production does. You can check it out at: http://adga.org/SD/EliteDoe2007_JUL.htm.
(with the linear appraisal inspector)
Way to go, girls!! |
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Summer Reading
New Book
Features Black Mesa Ranch We are proud to be featured along with 345 other fine cheese makers in Jeffery Roberts' gorgeous new book "The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese". 6/8/07 This book, perfect for the "foodie" in your life, is widely available for $35 or you can purchase it directly from us for $5 off the cover price. Click here to jump to our Online Sales Page for more information and ordering details. |
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Continuing Education at BMR:
BMR Classes, Seminars and Workshops Take a look at our updated 1,and 3-day Goat herd Management, Artisan Cheese-Making and Ranch Life Educational opportunities. 6/1/07 So many people have asked us to do seminars and get-away weekends we finally have taken the plunge and said "yes". Click here for more information on our Ranch Workshops and Retreats. |
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A Word from the Herd... Linear Appraisal 2007 5/16/07 We take great pride in our goat herd. They are a wonderful bunch and work hard making milk so that David can turn it into our award winning cheeses. We know that they can crank out the milk. We are on DHIR milk test so every month a supervisor comes to monitor the quantity and quality of the milk. Our girls consistently earn their milking stars. However, since we don’t show our goats, we don’t get a lot of feedback on their conformation. So this year we starting doing Linear Appraisal (LA). LA is an American Dairy Goat Association sponsored program where a trained appraiser evaluates every goat. The goat gets scored on many different attributes. We were incredibly pleased with the results of the LA. The appraiser commented several times about what a wonderful, strong herd we have here. The results of the LA will help us continue to breed attractive, productive animals. Congratulations to our herd – they are now “Officially Beautiful”! Their scores are listed on their individual lineage pages.
BMR Linear Appraisal 2007 |
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Kudos: BMR Receives Award
2/20/07 We were recently honored by the nice the folks at Edible Phoenix Magazine receiving their 2007 "Local Hero Award" as "Food Artisan Extraordinaire" The award announcement was published on their web site and in the Spring 2007 edition of the magazine. Our friend and good customer Chrysa Kaufman from Rancho Pinot in Scottsdale was named their "Chef Extraordinaire" and Bob McClendon of McClendon Select their "Farmer Extraordinaire" for the year. Edible Phoenix did a very nice story about us and the ranch in their Summer 2006 edition. Click here to read the full article. |
Black Mesa Ranch, Snowflake, Arizona, USA - Nubian Goats, Artisan Cheese, Handmade Chocolates and Candy
Ask us about our Life-on-the-Ranch day and weekend escape packages - kidding season, cheese making, candy making etc!
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