The Farm

Located in the northern tip of the fertile Sacramento Valley, our farm was purchased as "bare land" in the 1980s and has continued to grow and evolve to its present state of supporting the dairy goat herd, a small herd of Angus cattle, providing pasture, as well as enabling us to grow a portion of our own hay. We have not used any kind of pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer on our fields for over a decade. Development of our grass/hay is ongoing as we investigate organic methods of fertilizing and grass enhancement employing only organic/natural/sustainable methods.

We are producing milk and in turn cheeses of exceptional quality which are also "clean and wholesome" to consume. We can assure our customers our cheese is free of hormones and antibiotics owing to the fact our cheese is made only from milk "grown" here on the farm, and all stages of product production from milking, to finally wrapping the cheese for market and distributing to outlets and customers is handled by us (the owner operators). Two part-time employees will join us this Spring (2008) to assist in these endeavors.

We embrace the responsibility to leave as little "imprint" on the land as possible relative to our farming operation. We do not use a "pit or lagoon" system to handle the waste from the dairy and instead built an environmentally friendly underground septic system as well as composting animal manure which safeguards our groundwater. In addition, our hot water source is solar assisted. Future plans include expansion of the use of solar technologies.

The animal facilities and dairy were designed with the safety/comfort of both animals and people as a priority. The goat herd is not confined and lives a "stable low stress" lifestyle with free access to both pasture and spacious indoor housing. Fly control is achieved by keeping the goat areas clean as well as a "fly string" system which does not involve sprays or pesticides.

All rooms in the dairy including the milking parlor are climate controlled and have large windows with lovely vistas of the garden and open fields and are free of rodents and flies. The dairy has a full bathroom/shower, as well as a full kitchen/office for meals and taking a break. The cheese room is equipped with radio, as well as TV/DVD.

The Angus Herd on Fall Pasture

North Valley Farms Chèvre has earned the Animal Welfare Approved Seal. This is not an easy certification to achieve. The  program requires the animals to be grazed on a small family farm with the family still providing the labor to milk and care for the animals. More information about the program can be found at the Animal Welfare Approved website.

Mark and Deneane Ashcraft
P.O. Box 698
Cottonwood, CA 96022
530-347-7151
dashcraft@northvalleyfarms.com