Angeles Crest Creamery

Learning from the Land

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Angeles Crest Creamery put hoofs on the ground in the Angeles National Forest in 2015 with the goal of shepherding small ruminants in the mountains to produce food without the use of imported or pumped water. Much forage was consumed, much food was produced and much knowledge was gained by ruminants, working dogs and humans over the 5 years that followed. The project successfully demonstrated that drought tolerant food production is indeed possible in arid Southern California using agriculture's most time tested techniques. 

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Sadly the project did not turn out to be as climate change resilient as hoped. On September 19, 2020, the Bobcat Fire burned most of the ranch's lands, making it impossible to continue foraging the goats while simultaneously protecting the delicate and evolving landscape in the burn scar, making it both financially and ecologically unsustainable to continue the project. Since the fire, we have been working toward a soft landing by gradually reducing our head count and feeding the goats hay instead of letting them forage. We are very grateful for the many financial contributions we've received since the fire that have made it possible to wind down the project in a gradual and humane way while keeping the goats well fed. Our goal is to conclude this wind down by the end of 2022, leaving us with a small herd of mostly retired lady goats to feed. 

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What does this land need from us now? Join us as we continue to learn from the land and figure out what's next. Visit our fire ecology journal at The Obligate Resprouter, sign up for a free subscription to our newsletter, or book a ranchstay to come explore the ranch in person.