Do it for the Kids
At Prairie Thyme Farm, life revolves around goats
For Christina Anderson, it was always about the goats. Prairie Thyme Farm was founded nine years ago and is currently the only Grade A goat dairy in Oklahoma. But the beautiful fresh cheese that Prairie Thyme is known for is a byproduct; goats are the center of this farm.
Anderson grew up in California, where she kept sheep for the Future Farmers of America. Upon graduation, she immediately enlisted in the military with her husband and started a family. After many years in Germany and a deployment to Desert Storm, they moved to Texas, where a 4H project for her children led to goat ownership. The goats were intended for her boys … but it was Anderson who really fell head over hoof for her capric companions.
When she and her partner later separated, she moved to Yukon to be closer to her children, but the goats had to be sold. Kids over kids. She soon found she was missing her “happy place,” and knew she had to get her goats back. Anderson owner-financed a farm near Newalla and acquired some strong bloodlines from respected creameries on the East and West Coasts. She taught herself to make fresh cheese, kefir, skyr, lotion, and soap to offset the cost of the operation. “The whole dairy came from a love for the goats,” Anderson says. “How do I make this work and have my babies?”
The herd of 60 Alpine, Saanen, and La Mancha goats have won multiple awards. Anderson helped birth and bottle-feed most of them, and introduces the goats to visitors as she would her friends. She says their temperaments shine through as examples of their breeds as well as their bloodlines.
In 2022, the drought nearly cost her everything. Alfalfa was scarce in Oklahoma, and prices increased tenfold, sending her on an expensive out-of-state search for alternative feed. In 2023, she’s on better footing and hoping to go all-in. The cheese aging caves she installed a few years ago will finally be put to use, which means customers can look forward to new varieties of bloomy-rind cheese. As for the goats, the forecast is always the same: another year of immaculate care on a farm where the world revolves around them.
> Prairie Thyme Farm, 18801 Sunvalley Rd, Newalla, (405) 589-7361, prairiethymefarm.com
You can find Prairie Thyme Farm’s products at Whiskey Cake, Hefner Grill, Conscious Community Co-Op (Edmond), Urban Agrarian (Edmond + OKC), Lakeview Market (Yukon), Happy Heart Homestead Mercantile (Newcastle), FarmBar (Tulsa), The Living Kitchen (Depew), Country Bird Bakery (Tulsa), Tulsa Farmers Market, and Stillwater Farmers Market.
