'Utterly divine' goat dairy

By MANDY SPIKES | Central Texas Edition

Maria Poyer milks one of her family's dairy goats at their dairy farm. Utterly Divine Dairy, which is located in Grandview, caters to those people who have allergies to cow's milk and milk products. "I enjoy milking the goats," Poyer states. "I also enjoy petting the goats and talking to them while I milk them." -Staff photo by Spikes

November 20, 2003 -- Eleven-year-old Maria Poyer enjoys helping with the family business. Every morning she gets up at 5:00 a.m. to help her family milk their various dairy goats at their farm. What started out as a way to help her brother drink milk has turned into a prosperous family business.

Utterly Divine Dairy, located in Grandview, caters to those people who have allergies to cow's milk and milk products. According to Poyer, her family began milking goats be-cause of her brother's allergy to cow's milk. "Alan could handle goat's milk, but the store milk tasted awful. My parent's got three goats so we could start producing our own goat's milk." Now 15-years-old, Alan is able to eat the products made with cow's milk, but chooses to still drink goat's milk.

When the family realized the need that others had for their milk, they decided to buy more goats and open their own dairy farm. "We started off with three goats, then we had seven, then fourteen. We just grew to where we are now." Currently, the Poyer's own 32 goats and use eight for milking. "We used to have 10 milking goats, but two recently had babies so we are using that milk to feed their babies." She stated that they will add more milking goats this month, which will help increase production.

Poyer also explained how they decided to name their business. "One day we were discussing as a family what we should name our farm. That night I thought of the name Utterly Divine. When I went to tell my mom the next day she said that was strange because my father thought of the same name that morning."

While Poyer loves helping milk the goats, she said that it's not always easy. "Sometimes it's hard to get up every day at 5:00 a.m. But, I really enjoy milking the goats. It makes me feel good that I accomplished something. I also enjoy petting the goats and talking to them while I milk them."

The goats are milked twice a day in the cooler seasons and once a day in the warmer seasons. The family has both Nubian and American LaMancha goats, which are desert breeds that are able to adjust to the Texas environment.

Maria Poyer enjoys the finished product from her family's goat dairy farm. -Staff photo by Spikes

Many people purchase goat's milk because of their allergies to cow's milk or even to feed their pets, she said. "We have regular customers who are always buying our milk. We even have a lady in Florida that we mail our milk to for her pets. We send her milk frozen and frozen milk is not for human consumption, so we think that she probably has different pets that she wants to feed." She added that they are getting new customers now because of their new website and the sign at their farm that they recently put out.

"One of the reasons people like our milk versus the goat's milk sold in the store is because our milk doesn't have that 'goaty' taste. Our milk is the type of milk you should enjoy drinking.

"The reason most store milk has that 'goaty' taste is because the bucks are around the herd when they are being milked. Bucks are smelly and they affect the taste of the milk. But our bucks are separate from our herd so our milk doesn't taste like that."

An inspector comes by every month to check to see how they are doing and to test the milk, she said. "We are very proud of our facility. Not only are we the only Grade A dairy in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but we also test our whole herd for all diseases.

"One day we would like to have a drive through for people to stop by and pick up their milk. But that's an idea for the future," she said.

For more information on Utterly Divine Dairy, visit their website at: www.utterlydivine.com.