Harley Farms Goat Dairy — Local services in Half Moon Bay

The baby goats are very cute, and the cheese tastes delicious--no questions about that! I will share how an experience at Harley Farms was very upsetting to me. One thing I will say is that I am grateful that this place lifted the veil of denial I had about "humane" dairy.

I had visited Harley Farms maybe 10 times previously, watching the adorable baby goats and always stopping by to purchase some cheese before leaving. It always made me feel great to interact with the animals and people there.

I finally went on the official tour with a group of friends. I should say that I've visited a few farms here and there, but didn't grow up on a farm or anything like that. The tour guide was a little surly, which I actually kind of liked--but there was a big disconnect when she talked about how happy the goats were, compared with what my friends and I saw at the farm. In the baby goat pen that we visited, there was a small baby, visibly suffering, barely breathing and getting stepped on and trampled by other goats. We were each given a baby goat to hold and it was such a terrible feeling to be holding this sweet, cute creature while watching another one dying just a few feet away. Most of us tried to just face the other direction. When numerous people in our group pointed the baby out to the tour guide she just brushed it off, not caring in the slightest. Then we saw a male goat with his head wrapped in gauze, shaking and facing a wall, obviously in a lot of pain. The tour guide had told us that he was "just being a grouch" because he had his horns removed 3 days prior, which doesn't hurt the animal.

It took a couple of years for the depth of this experience to completely sink in, but I am grateful for this place for showing me the truth and what I needed to see. I've been happily plant-based for the last 8 months. I feel healthy and that my eating behavior is more inline with my values. The truth that I had to see is that humane dairy just does not exist, even at a small farm. That fact combined with all of the studies saying how dairy is just not healthy for people makes not eating cheese again...

What a magical place! I booked a private tour here for my 33rd birthday with 20 close friends at $20 a head and we had such a blast.

Our tour guide was very informative and gave us enough time to take photos and pet the goats. I appreciated that the guide shared with us Harley's colorful history and sustainable farming practices -- the latter being important to me. I admire Dee Harley's integrity for treating her goats very well, making cheese in small batches, and keeping the business local.

As birthday girl, I got to decorate my own Monet cheese wheel and afterwards got to share it with my friends in the garden. I had my doubts about how the tour could possibly take two hours since upon driving up and seeing how "small" the farm was, it seemed unreasonable. However, it definitely took two hours and we all wished it could keep on going.

The honey lavender goat cheese (pricey at $16 but worth it with the right bread) is heavenly and I admit I threw a quarter of the chive goat cheese ($8) into my freshly made mac n' cheese dinner later that week (ironic that the mac n' cheese was $1 a box) and it totally made my day! :)

After our visit, we picnicked at San Gregorio Beach about 5 minutes away. Harley Farms is the perfect daytrip for locals as well as for out-of-town...

I’ve visited this goat farm a couple of times, especially around the Dasara festival, which we celebrate in Hindu culture (in Nepal and India). Last year, I went with my friends and bought a goat for about $700, including cutting, cleaning, and burning. The team also cleaned the intestines, and overall the price was fair considering we got the whole goat. The quality was good, and we had a nice barbecue afterward.

This year, I went again on Dasara hoping to buy another one, but they only had female goats available and no males, so we didn’t buy this time. The service was okay, and the staff were friendly, but I’d recommend going prepared — bring your own bags or containers for the meat. Last time, we didn’t have any and had to drive back to Half Moon Bay to get garbage bags and boxes to pack everything.

The farm itself is in a quiet area, not too far from Half Moon Bay — around two to three miles away, right off Highway 1. The location is easy to find with the address. Overall, it’s a good place with decent service, but it’s best to call ahead or check what kind of goats they have...