Change of scenery

HILLSBORO, Wis. — As a kid in Rockford, Illinois, Sarah Schmidt felt an unlikely calling. She wanted to farm — not just any farm, but one of her own. The path to living that dream was winding and twisting and had some thorns along the way, but she found it in the hills of Vernon County.

Sarah is the owner of Sarah’s Schoolhouse Goats. She is in her second year as the agriculture teacher and FFA adviser at the School District of Hillsboro and a mother of two.

“It was always a dream of mine to own my own herd of goats,” Sarah said. “Ever since I was little, my mom told me that I gravitated towards them. I like their personality, how they look. It’s like how some people are obsessed with dogs; my obsession just happens to be goats. When I have a bad day, there’s nothing better than being in the barn with them.”

Her herd has evolved over the years. She first purchased milking goats in 2015, when her then-boyfriend and now husband, Clint Schmidt, worked with the goats every day. At its peak, there were 50 goats in the milking herd, housed at Clint’s family farm, Hope Ridge Farm. The farm is also home to 25 Guernsey cows. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns, Sarah found time to develop a new hobby and potentially a new business.

“I was buying goat’s milk soap, and I knew the benefits were great, and then COVID hit,” Sarah said. “I was a little nervous to start making soap because you’re using lye, but I decided I needed to do something with my time. After soap, I decided to try lotion, and I kept researching more and more products that I could make.”

Currently, Sarah’s Schoolhouse Goats offers dog treats, laundry soap, lip balm, soap and lotion, all using the milk from the Schmidt’s goats.

“There are books on how to make soaps; the rest of the products have been through trial and error,” Sarah said. “Sometimes, you just really have to know chemistry. I took all those college classes, and I have a lot of science background, so that helps.”

Sarah’s background in science came during college, and she pursued a collegiate career that spanned eight years and three schools. She found it difficult to find a program that fit where she wanted her life to go.

“In eighth grade, I told my dad I wanted to be a farmer,” Sarah said. “He told me absolutely not, that I was going to go to college and be an engineer.”

Sarah first attended community college in her hometown of Rockford, then transferred to Winona State University in Minnesota. She finished her general studies degree at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.

She was married with two sons and working full time in Rockford but continued to look for something more.

“I reached a point in my life where I thought that this can’t be it,” Sarah said. “I had fulfillment with my boys, but I wasn’t happy. I went through a divorce, and I thought, ‘I’m old enough now that no one can tell me what I can and can’t do.’ So, I went on FarmersOnly.com, and I found a farmer.”

Sarah met Clint in 2015. With Clint’s help, the foundation was laid to live the life she had dreamed about.

“I knew I could not keep living in the city doing the same job,” Sarah said. “We had a different lifestyle, and I just wanted something more down to earth. I didn’t care about status or any of that stuff anymore. I knew that farming and having my own goats were going to fulfill that happiness and that dream.”

At the start of her farming adventure, Sarah was still living in Rockford and would visit her goats and Clint on the weekends. Clint managed the day-to-day operations at Hope Ridge Farm, working with his dairy cows and Sarah’s goats. After a few months, Sarah packed up her car and made the move to the dairy state with her two boys, then ages 6 and 8.

“I quit my job, packed my car and moved here,” Sarah said. “I needed a new life. I knew this was the only time I could have this. I knew what I wanted and that this would make me happy, and I hadn’t been happy in a long time.”

In the summer of 2016, Sarah and Clint were married and now work together with both the cows and the goats on the farm with Sarah’s two young boys.

“I thought it would give my kids a better life, too,” Sarah said. “Living on the farm, it got them outside, gave them chores and responsibilities. It’s a very different lifestyle than living in Rockford, and they get to have both perspectives.”

Along with the milking herds, Sarah was also raising between 300 and 400 goat kids until they were large enough to be sold to other goat farmers. The herd was housed at Hope Ridge Farm, but Schmidt wanted to have the pets she had always longed for even closer.

“Even though we are less than a mile away, the waking up and getting in the car was wearing me down,” Sarah said. “I knew I wanted to get them to our house, and we had the old schoolhouse empty.”

The schoolhouse now houses a reduced number of goats, currently with 10, one of which is hand-milked. It is home to ducks, chickens, cats, dogs and a pig. Between Sarah’s passion and Clint’s background, in addition to his own passion for agriculture, the two continue to build their life together.

“Without Clint, I probably would have failed miserably,” Sarah said. “Clint did so much for me to help get me started, and he continues to do so much. The first year the goats were freshening, I panicked. I didn’t know what I was doing. He was right there helping me, teaching me. I don’t think this would even be happening right now if it wasn’t for him.”

Through Clint’s persuasion, you can now find Sarah and products from Sarah’s Schoolhouse Goats available at farmers markets and craft fairs in Wisconsin’s Driftless region.

“I was terrified to go out and be on the front lines selling,” Sarah said. “I started getting out there last summer, and I’m so glad I did. I’ve grown as a person and learned a lot. Without him (Clint) pushing me, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”