For the Love of Goats and Ice Cream

In 2008, two Blue Heron Farm does arrived on the 4-acre family vegetable and fruit farm All We Need Farm in Needville. The Roussels bought the does, one for each of their daughters, as a family project for milk, education, soil fertility and companionship. They named them Daisy and Poinsettia. Daisy and Poinsettia helped grow a happy herd of 22 Nubian and Nubian/Lamancha cross goats and with the herd grew a desire to become a goat dairy farmer.

In 2014, Stacey Roussel decided to it was time to take a break from vegetable farming, and focuson the goatherd. Mentored by what she lovingly calls “amazing goat people” like Lisa and Christian Seger, who also introduced them to the South Texas Dairy Goat Club, the Roussels developed the necessary goat husbandry skills.

Stacey’s choice of goat milk product is ice cream. “My family loves ice cream, and the high butterfat in Nubian-breed goats makes for great ice cream,” said Stacey Roussel. It was, in fact, Lisa Seger who encouraged Stacey to develop her own goat milk ice cream.

“Goat people are truly the best people,” said Stacey.

All We Need Farm goat milk popsicles won first prize in the amateur confections division at the last American Dairy Goat Association’s Dairy Product Competition.

With construction of the dairy kitchen completed, and approved by the state, Stacey is now a favorite vendor at the weekly Urban Harvest Farmers Market and Rice University Farmers Market where fans line up to buy her goat milk popsicles. 

Find the feature story Goats Galore, a story about dairy goat farmers, the kidding season, goat dairy products, and the inspiration of what Stacey Roussel indeed calls “amazing goat people”, in our very first issue.