Elroy Area Family Builds Business Out Of Love For Goats

What started as a way to clear away some brush turned into a family passion for goats. Today, the Barnharts care for a herd of approximately 23 goats, primarily registered Nigerian Dwarfs and Mini-Nubians, though they are beginning to branch out into meat goats as well.

Contributed photo.

After relocating to their new home outside of Elroy in 2018, the Barnhart family discovered fruit trees growing on a section of their property. However, the trees were surrounded by thick brush which made accessing the trees all but impossible. Not ones to be deterred, Sandy Barnhart and her family looked at possible solutions to their problem, eventually finding one: goats.

They started out with a pair of Saanen goats, a Swiss dairy breed that has grown in popularity among goat farmers due to their high milk production. The Saanens were set to work on the brush, and with the assistance of some Nigerian Dwarf goats the Barnharts later acquired, the fruit trees were once again accessible.

For some, that may have been the end of it. However, Barnhart and her family discovered a love for goats and decided to keep the goats on and build their herd. They soon came to focus on breeding registered Nigerian Dwarfs, though their current herd contains multiple breeds.

The only problem with entering the goat breeding business? The Barnharts found themselves dealing with an abundance of milk. In an effort to put the milk to use rather than waste what didn’t go into feeding kids, Barnhart began to research alternative uses for goat milk. One potential use, which Barnhart had long been a fan of, was goat milk soap.

Barnhart set to work researching the process behind creating the soaps and started experimenting with the excess milk her herd produced.

The process begins with Barnhart selecting what butters and oils will go into the batch. Which butters and oils are used can have a big impact on the final product’s quality and attributes—for example, utilizing coconut oil results in a soap which produces big bubbles. Typically, Barnhart opts to utilize lard as the base for her soaps, as it gives the final product a firmer structure and greater moisturizing attributes.

Once Barnhart has selected her chosen base ingredients, she then melts down her selection. The raw goat’s milk is mixed with lye, forming a solution that will then be added to the melted-down oils and butters. After the two components are blended together, the next step is adding in the fragrances and coloring agents. Once everything has been mixed together to Barnhart’s satisfaction, the final mixture is poured into the soap molds where it is left to set before being cut into individual bars.

The majority of Barnhart’s scent selection takes seasonal inspiration, though she and her daughter, Danielle, have built up a selection of base scents that are popular sellers throughout the year. Part of the fun is experimenting with different scent combinations, which can yield interesting results. Much of what Barnhart uses to create her scent combinations involve essential oils, some of which work better in soaps than others.

Today, Barnhart has two years of soap-making experience to her credit and her products have built up a solid base of repeat customers. Her daughter has also committed to the business, focusing primarily on marketing Barnhart’s soaps and helping test new scent combinations and product ideas.

Soaps remain the cornerstone of Barnhart’s operation, though the mother-daughter duo have added in new products over the past two years. Products available for purchase from Highrock Haven include lotions, wax melts, and sugar scrubs—the most recent addition to the lineup. They also offer a line of pet products, which include shampoos and sprays as well as lotions for paws and noses. The pet line came to be as the Barnharts focused on one of their own dogs, whose sensitive skin required some extra thought and attention.

Pets aren’t the only ones with sensitive skin; over the past two years, they’ve learned that their soaps do well for people who have sensitive or semi-sensitive skin. Many of their repeat customers have reported that the soaps they’ve purchased from the Barnharts are gentler on their skin than store-brand varieties.

The sensitivity to commercial products may also lead to another new addition to the Highrock Haven lineup. The Barnharts suspect that Danielle may have an allergy to lanolin, a sheep oil commonly used in products such as chapstick and lip balms, and so are considering developing their own brand of lip balm in the future.

Beyond health and beauty products, Barnhart has also expressed interest in experimenting with cheese-making, as she wants to try her hand at making goat milk mozzarella.

Moving forward, Barnhart and her daughter will be attending a handful of craft and vendor shows, such as one at Woodside Ranch on November 12 and one at Unifying Nutrition on November 19. Those interested in trying out products from the Highrock Haven line can find the brand online by visiting www.highrockhaven.com or their Facebook page of the same name, on which customers can get a sneak peek at possible new soaps, experiments with various soap-making techniques, and other behind-the-scenes items.