Lone Palmetto Farms, LLC

Website: lonepalmetto.com

This grower has a photo album.

We are a small family farm offering quality products. We have a commitment to education, preservation and sustainable farming. Farming is not just about producing a product to us. We want our farm to have a positive impact on our community and our environment as well.

Our farm name of “Lone Palmetto” represents our two home states; Texas and South Carolina. Our farm is the result of our coming together, so, our farm name is representative of that union. Lone Palmetto is a combination of “Lone Star State” and “Palmetto State.”

Lone Palmetto Farms began in 2005 as a hobby farm. In 2008, the dairy, handcrafted soaps, natural bath and body products and soy candles were added. 2012 brought the introduction of the creamery and our fresh goat cheeses.

At Lone Palmetto Farms it is our objective to have as much depth and diversity in our opportunities for revenue streams for the farm as possible. Our ultimate goal is to strive for sustainability.

The Dairy
The dairy is the root operation on the farm and produces our foundation product, goat milk. The dairy launched in 2008 with Lone Palmetto Farms attaining a SC DHEC raw milk permit. We continued to sell raw bottled milk and bulk milk to cheese facilities until 2011. In 2012 we moved to a SC DHEC permit to produce pasteurized milk and opened the creamery. All milk is kept on site and used in our own products or bottled at this point.

We have 50+ does in production at any given time over the course of a year. All Lone Palmetto Farms milk is from our herd of Alpine, Nubian, Saanen and Grade Lamancha goats. We do not use any antibiotics or hormones to increase production. Our herd receives high quality feed, alfalfa and coastal hay as well as grazing. We believe that better feeding gives higher quality milk to put in the bottle or to use in cheese production.

While we are not a 100% grass-fed dairy, our herd does have access to pasture 24/7 and grass/pasture is a portion of their diet. A pasture based or ‘grass-fed’ feeding program is more beneficial because it is a more natural means of keeping livestock. Pasture programs are more efficient in that there is less manual labor needed to handle the waste produced, the animals are fed more ‘at will’ and the animals naturally fertilize the pastures. This is a more sustainble method all around: for the farmer, for the animal and for the environment. As an added bonus, the food produced from pasture based programs has better nutrients for the consumer.

The Creamery
Our overall farm goals from the beginning included diversification for the dairy. One component of the diversification includes the the creamery. We opened the creamery in 2012 and began producing fresh goat cheeses. Our initial cheeses include fresh chevre in a variety of flavors and feta. Future cheeses will include aged offerings. Additional creamery items to be introduced in the future include frozen goat milk custard/custard mix and yogurt.

We like to think that our cheese stands out as one of the freshest flavored goat cheeses you’ll ever try. At Lone Palmetto Farms we produce a variety of fresh chevre cheeses as well as feta. All of our cheese is produced using our own milk from the dairy on site at the farm. Cheese is produced in batches of 20-60 gallons at a time. We pasteurize the milk at a low temperature so as to keep the purest flavor and least amount of manipulation to the milk itself.

Bath and Body Products
We began producing goat milk soaps in 2008 when the dairy launched. Our soaps are hand crafted using all natural ingredients. We make our soap in small batches using the cold process method. We do not add coloring/dyes to our soaps. To compliment the soaps, we also pour soy lotion candles. These candles are poured into jars that are waste from the creamery. We keep the jars from the ingredients to the cheeses, clean them and re-use them as containers for our candles.

Lone Palmetto Farms produces handcrafted soaps made with natural oils and our Grade A Goat Milk. Goat milk soaps are desired for their added moisturizing properties. The natural oils and goat milk contribute natural glycerin to the soap. Commercial soap makers extract this glycerin and re-sale it for profit. Handcrafted soaps retain this important moisturizing agent. At Lone Palmetto Farms we offer unscented and scented soaps using natural fragrance and essential oils.

Lone Palmetto’s soy candles provide a low temperature burning candle. They are non-toxic and less likely to trigger allergies. Soy candles burn cleaner and longer than wax candles. The natural ingredients make them both animal and child-friendly. The melted wax can be used as a lotion to help maintain your skin’s natural moisture balance after the candle is extinguished.

Whey
A bi-product of the creamery and cheese process is whey. We work with area heritage hog growers to supply them with the whey to feed their hogs. This is a good supplement to the hogs. By supplying the hog growers with the whey, we do not have to dispose of it. It can serve a purpose.

Compost
While we do have our herd on pasture and fertilize the pastures well, they still leave concentrated amounts of manure in their bedding areas. Throughout the year we clear out these areas and store the waste to cure. This waste is used as fertilizer, sold for compost and serves as a medium for mushroom cultivation.

Heritage Breed Poultry
We introduced poultry to the farm as a means of sanitation. The poultry assist the farm by helping to clean up scattered or wasted feed from the goats, by scratching the ground to keep it dry and by consuming bugs and other pests on the farm. The poultry also add to the farm by providing eggs and meat as well as live chicks and hatching eggs to sell. We chose to use Heritage breeds to continue in our efforts of sustainability.

As defined by Sustainable Table “Heritage breeds are traditional livestock breeds that were raised by farmers in the past, before the drastic reduction of breed variety caused by the rise of industrial agriculture.” We believe that it is critical to preserve these breeds. Many times, ‘industrialized’ breeds of livestock can not naturally reproduce. As a result of human interference and genetic manipulation, these breeds could be at risk of extinction without human assistance in reproduction. In order for a breed to be considered “heritage,” it must be capable of natural reproduction.