Rooted in family sustainability

CONOVER, Wis. — Kathy Martin got her first goats when her children were young. As the herd grew, she realized she was hooked on the small ruminants. She began to consider how she could develop a dairy business that would give her the flexibility she desired and the income she needed.

Today the herd at Martin’s Hillbilly Hollow LLC, located near Conover, in Vilas County, includes 10 milking does.

Besides dairy farming, Martin also processes her own milk. Martin operates her creamery as a grade B facility, processing all the milk produced into cheese. Throughout her years as a cheesemaker, Martin has developed several recipes of her own, including a cross between Asiago-style and Parmesan-style cheese, as well as a feta-style cheese. She also makes a few varieties of cheddars, chèvre and cheese curds.

“That’s the beauty of being your own processor,” Martin said. “I can make whatever strikes my mood, what I feel like doing.”

Currently, Martin sells her cheese direct to market. She regularly participates in markets in Eagle River and Minocqua, along with a winter market in Rhinelander.

Over the years, starting from her beginnings as a mom, Martin’s goals have changed as she has navigated her small dairy farm to fit her life.

The first goats came to the farm as a way for Martin to ensure sustainability for her family, while her husband was experiencing health issues.

“We were just trying to figure out how to get by and survive,” Martin said. “I got a couple of goats and started making cheese and kept my kids fed. The next thing I knew, I had 10 goats, then 20 — there we had to make a decision.”

The Martins realized shipping milk was unlikely to be an option for them, based on their size and location. The couple went to Madison to visit the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to learn if on-farm processing might be a feasible option.

“It was unheard of 20 or 25 years ago, for a small processor, finding small equipment,” Martin said. “At first (DATCP staff) looked at us like we were insane, but they were great resources. We asked a lot of questions — we wanted to know what we were getting into.”

Martin has operated her licensed processing plant for nearly 20 years now, but the road has not been easy.

“The cost of building a dairy plant was high when we did it back then,” Martin said. “I cashed in my IRA to finish it off, and I’ll be paying it off next month.”

At the peak, Martin and her husband were milking as many as 40 goats. His passing in 2014 prompted Martin to downsize her herd. Today, she is once again looking to grow her herd.

“Right now, my herd is either really young or really old,” Martin said. “I don’t have anything in that middle age range right now, so I’m hoping to build the herd back over the next couple of years. I think 25 is manageable for one person, added to the time processing and marketing.”

The does in Martin’s herd are primarily mixed breed. Her location can make sourcing good breeding bucks difficult, so she prioritizes improving milk production over the specific breed of buck. This year she has added four registered Nigerian Dwarfs, along with a Nigerian Dwarf buck, to help increase the fat content of her milk. She plans to try to keep her Nigerian Dwarf herd purebred to build on the component production.

Martin milks seasonally, typically breeding her goats in October or November for springtime kidding.

“I like to have the holidays for family, and I like to visit my mother in Arizona in January,” Martin said. “The winters are pretty rough here, and it helps not having the extra work of milking.”

Almost 10 years ago, Martin’s daughter returned to the area, and together the pair launched a retail store in nearby Eagle River. However, when her daughter relocated to Appleton with her family, Martin decided to sell the retail store.

“I prefer to be here on the farm, working with the livestock, versus at the store,” Martin said.

Since selling the retail store, Martin relies on local farmers markets to sell her cheese, along with baked goods from her commercial kitchen. Martin said she is focusing on streamlining her business to make the best use of her time.

“I’m doing Eagle River Wednesdays and Sundays, and I’ll be in Minocqua on Fridays this year,” Martin said. “I’m trying to schedule it to have prep time the day before each market. I did a Saturday and a Sunday market last year, and it was just too much.”

Martin’s corner of northeastern Wisconsin is a tourism-driven economy, she said. She tries to create products that interest traveling consumers.

“In the summer season, the soft cheeses are probably my bestseller,” Martin said. “I started doing some marinated fetas a couple of years ago and they have really taken off.

Always considering new ways to grow her business, Martin recently purchased a small ice cream machine to begin experimenting with making ice cream and frozen custard from her goat milk.

“That’s why I purchased the Nigerian Dwarfs,” Martin said. “It’s just something I’m playing with, to see if it’s viable before spending the money to make it on a commercial basis.”

Her best advice to others Martin said is to get to know local inspectors and the staff at DATCP that license dairy processors.

“Ask questions,” Martin said. “They are wonderful resources, and they want to help. Never be afraid to ask — it’s much better to know and do things right than to have to try and fix it when something isn’t done correctly.”

What started as a way to help feed her family decades ago has slowly turned into a self-sustaining way of life for Martin.

“It’s all these little pieces that go together to make a living,” Martin said. “I’ve needed to figure out how I can support myself during various places in life.”