Milking a hobby on the ranch

Raising kids can be a lot of work.

That goes double for Myakka City’s Morgan Smith.

Smith and her husband, Aaron, have a full house with five children, but Morgan Smith, 35, also has dedicated about as much time to raising her seven goats as well.

It has led to an interesting hobby.

While Morgan Smith loved just having the goats, she eventually wanted to figure out a way to profit from the 40 ounces of milk her four female goats were producing daily.

“We tried milk popsicles, goat milk ice cream, fudge and goat cheese,” Morgan said.

Then, in November 2015, she started making goat soap.

“The soap is what I really got creative with,” she said. “There is so much variation with it. I loved making the soap, wrapping it when it was finished. I loved all of the different things you could do with it, the colors, swirls and variation of scents.”

Her home began to fill up with goat soap.

“I didn’t know what to do with it,” she said. “ I had to figure out a way to justify the cost of making it.”

In 2016, Morgan’s Goat Soap began to appear at local farmers markets. She now sells it for $6 or $7 per bar.  

As Morgan pursues another degree and works full time at Wee Care Christian Academy, she and her husband have to find time to care for, and milk, her goats. It doesn’t seem like a chore, though, she said.

“We use it as our time to unwind before we go back in and cook dinner for the kids,” Morgan said.

Aaron has built stalls, sheds and a milking stand for the goats.

“I do it for her because it makes her happy,” Aaron said.

He also helped her collect seven goats, 30 chickens, six ducks and 10 sheep, many purchased before they moved to Myakka City a year ago.

“It’s like a petting zoo here,” Morgan Smith said. “We get so many requests on Facebook from people who are wanting to come over to just see the animals.”

But Morgan particularly loves the goats.

“Baby goats run, jump, twist, climb,” she said. “This is a business. It is a business that has grown totally from love.”