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Birch Haven Dairy Goats
Where line breeding is an Art, not an accident.
Birch Haven Farm
Since 1971, Doris Gronewold, owner and breeder at Birch Haven Farm, has dedicated her life to the Toggenburg breed. Seeing it as a superior specimen, she has spent years honing and refining bloodlines, breeding a generation of dairy goats with exemplary milk production and overall appearance.
Yet over the years she noticed a unique character trait among her Angel bloodline, does that produced better, tasting milk. For many years she cultivated this line, spreading it through her herd, and all the while enjoying the outcome it brought with better flavor and advanced cheese yield. Today, we know this to be the Alpha S1 Casein.
Alpha S1 Casein
What is the Alpha S1 Casein you might ask? I is not a common term, but one that almost everyone is effected by. It is simply a genetic provided by mother nature, resulting in better tasting milk that is higher in butterfat and protein. It also leads to higher cheese yields, producing more per gallon of milk. The Alpha S1 Casein has long been common among dairy cow breeds, where it was noticed and cultivated dating back to mideval times, but has been elusive in dairy goats. Many breeders and dairies have searched for it, trying to find the right bloodlines, some with less success than others, but through a great deal of dedication and knowhow, it has been found in the Birch Haven herd.
Scientifically proven through DNA testing by the University of California Davis, Birch Haven goats are prolific carriers of the Alpha S1 Casein genetic. By introducing a Birch Haven goat into your herd, it can drastically effect the productivity of your future generations of milkers, leading to higher yields in milk and cheese.
Our Goal
Here at Birch Haven, our goal has long been to establish a mid-sized line of Registered toggenburg dairy goats capable of producing 3000 pounds of milk a year with at least 3.6% butterfat and 3% protein. Our levels of the Alpha S! Casein run F/F to A/F, 'A' being the highest level valued in the dairies because of it's higher butterfat and protein levels. The cheese yeild is much higher from this milk, and thus more valuable. The F/F line is beneficial for those who have milk allergies. We are also working on longer lactations, does producing more milk on less feed, as well as lines that promote longevity.
Breeder, Not Dairy
Birch Haven Farm is not a dairy. We are devoted completely to the furtherment of the toggenburg breed and the Alpha S1 Casein genetic. Through a careful program, we manage a CAE free herd, prohibiting all outside contact with other herds and goats, including shows and outside breedings. We are dedicated to introducing superior goats into dairies.

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