The one and only horned female goat, Calypso, at Goat Conspiracy.
Abigail Youmans | The Democrat
BELMONT — When Nicole Schonemann explained to a friend that she and two others were considering quitting their jobs and starting a goat farm in Brown County, her friend said, “It’s a goat conspiracy.”
Fast forward seven years, Schonemann is sitting on the front porch of the cabin on the 26-acre goat farm that she, her boyfriend and two friends own together on the east end of Kent Road.
The expansive land is the home of their farm and business, The Goat Conspiracy, which has been open since 2018.
When they moved to the property they had 12 female goats and one male. Now more than 200 goats roam the hilly farm land.
Since opening, the dream and idea that Schonemann and partners Mark Veldman, Tonya Plachy and Josh Jackson had has since evolved into an expansive business.
They milk their goats — a mix of Nigerian Dwarf and Lamancha breeds — and make cheese with the milk produced.
Cheeses are made purely by hand, aside from a handful of machines (like a milk pasteurizer) necessary to be a licensed cheese making facility.
In the beginning of the business, Plachy practiced the artisan craft, milking goats, taking the milk home, coming up with recipes and techniques in order to fine tune the product.
It took about two and a half years to get the creamery licensed and ready to go, she said. This is their fourth year of selling cheese.
Cheese is vended at a number of Bloomington locations, including the city farmers market and Bloomingfoods.
They also make goats milk soaps and even offer workshops for participants to come and learn the process. Those involved leave with five bars of soap and end the workshop with a goat cheese and wine tasting.
Goat Conspiracy isn’t just focused on what products they can provide to customers, but also the events that they can host at the farm.
Goat yoga is also done on the property, instructed by Tyler Ferguson.
Participants will do traditional poses in a not-so-traditional setting, surrounded by bleating goats who join in the session.
In June there will even be a concert at the farm.
A pianist will perform classical pieces at sunset, as the audience sits on blankets eating thoughtfully paired wines with The Goat Conspiracy’s cheeses and more.
“It’s this kind of weird combo,” Schonemann said. “It’s classical music with goats in the background and people on picnic blankets eating fancy food, sun coming down.”
Their business has been able to grow, so Schonemann and Plachy are dialing back what they do.
Last year they started hiring and training people to milk and make cheese. They also have three tour guides.
Schonemann said that in all that they offer, food is their number one focus.
“Cheese making is very labor intensive. We are a farmstead, meaning milk that we use for cheese making is from our farm. Artisan small batch cheeses, made by hand,” she said. “We have a pasteurizer, but we make our cheese by hand like people have done for many years.”
Their process is stirring the cheese, cutting curds by hand, flipping and salting them.
Schonemann said their cheese is “against logic,” not being particularly financially sustainable — which is why they offer events, workshops and tours.
Also on the property is a large cabin that is rented out for overnight guests.
“We want to pay the people that work for us well. The events then are sort of like the icing (on the cake), but they’re fundamental in having a healthy farm,” she said.
As for what’s coming up, Schonemann said they’ll be adding new cheeses in the future.
They sell chevre, which is fresh, creamy and spreadable, in four standard varieties: Plain, wrapped in garlic herb mix, one rolled in peppercorns, one with lavender, fennel and thyme. They also make a dried crumbly cheese and mold ripened cheeses.
“We’ve got ideas for a few others to add to cheese repertoire this year,” Schonemann said. “Just trying to not go crazy.”
Customers in Brown County will be able to purchase cheeses and soaps at the Nashville Farmers Market at the Brown County Inn, which is open on Sundays from May through October.
They’re looking to expand in the Brown County market and will explore more options for vending in the county.
“We definitely want to expand into where we are,” she said.
Schonemann was director of the service learning program at Indiana University before turning to farm life.
Plachy and Jackson both worked at Bloomingfoods in Bloomington.
“We all wanted kind of a career shift,” Schonemann said. “We wanted to do something that was meaningful work, connected with land, place of life, building sustainability from beginning to end.”
The idea of life at a slower pace was also a draw, but Schonemann said that farming is not slow paced at all.
“It’s a lot of work, so that was a surprise,” she said. “People come to the farm and say, ‘Oh it’s so relaxing here,’ and we’re running around all over the place.”
Despite that busyness, Schonemann said they still see the beauty in where they are and what they do.
“We love it here. We love what we do,” she said.
Learn more
Learn more about Goat Conspiracy, sign up for goat yoga or workshops at goatconspiracy.com.
Location: 6022 E. Kent Road, Bloomington
Phone: 812-322-2879
Email: [email protected]
