Farming for Nature is delighted to welcome Goat Farmer Lisa Gifford to our Ambassador Network.
Lisa Gifford, along with her daughter Gypsy Gifford and daughter-in-law Richelle South, maintain a smallholding goat farm and cheesemaking micro-creamery in Drumcong, County Leitrim. They are milking goats and producing farmhouse goats cheese that is sold direct to customers at local farmers markets. Lisa is particularly interested in rare-breed goats such as the Irish Goat. Much of the grassland is diverse in plant, grass and herb species, and the remaining land will be reseeded with a multispecies mix suitable for goats. The pigs were introduced this year, and they are naturally tilling the grassland in need of improvement. External inputs are low and the farm is very extensively managed. There are mature hedgerows around the farm and Lisa is planting trees on the land and in field corners to provide shelter and improve soil structure, as well as creating additional habitat for wildlife. The plan is to retrofit an old farm building and to convert it into a micro dairy, then to increase the herd of goats and the quantity of goats cheese. Lisa takes great pride in the diversity of this farming system, as well as the fresh, natural product created on the farm.
Lisa says ‘Ethics and economics can co exist. What is necessary is shared values’.
You can register for Lisa’s live online Q&A which takes place on June 11 here
Book a place on her farm walk on June 23 here
