Fergusons Offer Supplies to the Community Through FLG Farms
Family barters, provides supplies as needed to local residents
TAYLORSVILLE — “I am kind of one of those people that if I haven’t done it, then I want to try it,” said Lee Ann Ferguson.
That philosophy led her to Taylorsville in 2012, when she and husband Andrew Ferguson took over his family farm, which opened in the 1970s.
“I think a big part of it was we had a young daughter and we really wanted her to understand, essentially, where her food came from.” Lee Ann said. “We wanted to have a way to give her responsibilities.”
The Fergusons first renovated the split-level 1970s farmhouse at Four Legs Good (FLG) Farms and then purchased a flock of chickens. However, they encountered a series of trial and error before discovering their farm’s niche.
“We’ve had a lot of different [animals] over the years,” Lee Ann said. “Some things we realized we were not good at, which bees were one of them. We did honey bees for about a year and decided I was partly allergic and not patient enough for it. I think that takes a very calm person and I am not. I recognized that weakness immediately.”
Next the family raised rabbits for three years, but that didn’t go as planned either.
“That was a complete and absolute waste of money, time and energy. It was exhausting,” Lee Ann said.
When the bunnies bred, they didn’t care for their young. In fact, they ate them.
Following the bunny business, the family raised turkeys. Lee Ann said the turkeys were better than the bees and bunnies, but it still wasn’t the right fit for their farm.
Finding The Right Fit
Fascinated by goats, Lee Ann went online and searched for the animal on Craigslist. She found a herd of six Nigerian dwarf goats.
“It was the breed that I liked,” Lee Ann said. “It just kind of felt like the stars had aligned at that point.”
Excited by the prospect, the family bought the herd. The goats arrived before their fence, which Lee Ann joked that she wouldn’t recommend.
Once the goats settled into their new home, Lee Ann stumbled across a craft using goat’s milk that appeared enjoyable and also benefited her family. Lee Ann and her daughter both struggled with skin irritation issues and soaps found at the local supermarket didn’t help. Made with alcohol and harsh chemicals, many mass-produced soap products dried out the mother and daughter’s skin, rather than adding moisture.
“It was kind of one of those things where it looked really fun on PintErest to make soap, so I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s a daunting exercise — everybody who learns soap making of course is worried about the lye and all the different whatevers,” Lee Ann said. “But I found it very therapeutic. It’s extremely linear. You have to do step one, step two, step three. So at the end of it, you have a serious sense of completion, which works well for me.”
The goat’s milk soap helped soothe the family’s skin irritation, so they tested the market for the product.
“We really felt like we were putting our animals to work in a way that suited us,” Lee Ann said. “We did a lot of the festivals and the sales helped us to continue to build housing for them and get them established, and then of course to get our farm’s name out.”
The Product Takes Off
Lee Ann’s soap production took off. Making batches of 200 bars every quarter or so, the business owner offers a variety of natural scents including lavender, coconut lemongrass, apple maple bourbon, sweet honeysuckle and many others. She also creates some batches without any additives — like fragrance oils and colorants — for those with extremely sensitive skin.
“Generally when you buy a bar of soap from the grocery store, that bar has been extruded through a process of mixing a whole lot of chemicals in it that we don’t use in homemade soap,” Lee Ann said.
Rather than getting that squeaky clean feeling that many expect from a bar of soap, the natural goat’s milk soap leaves the good and protective oils on the body instead of stripping them away.
“Goat’s milk has different qualities that are very skin loving, very skin softening,” Lee Ann said.
Now, the Fergusons have 32 registered and pedigreed Nigerian dwarf goats on their farm. In addition to selling soap and salve made from the animals’ milk, the family also breeds and sells goats and their offspring, known as kids.
The breed produces milk with a high butterfat content, which makes it great for making soap. Traits found in goats at FLG Farms include small statures, strength, health, good mammary structures and amicable personalities.
“We really don’t like unfriendly goats at our farm that don’t play with us, so we definitely have our favorites,” Lee Ann said.
With some personal hygiene items flying off the shelves at large retail stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FLG Farms offers a sustainable resource for those seeking a product created with nature’s help.
“I am really not inclined to think that we should rely on either state or federal to come to our rescue at times like this because they are overwhelmed with the demand for protecting people’s financial wellbeing and people’s businesses,” Lee Ann said. “So when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of things, when you know Walmart’s not going to have any eggs,[you know that] your local farmer has eggs.”
Also unlike big stores, Lee Ann noted she’s open to helping people in exchange for currencies other than money.
“If someone’s not working and they don’t have money, the whole idea of being able to do a barter setup where you’re doing an exchange of goods and services for one another, that to me is about being a community. That’s being neighborly. That’s being compassionate. And it’s a simple thing, right?” Lee Ann said. “I can make sure people have soap. I can make sure people have eggs. In turn, they make sure I have sausage or whatever. It really becomes less vulnerable, in my opinion, to be able to look to your neighbors to make things work out. Like, you know, if you can give me an hour of lawn service, I can give you a couple dozen eggs. It’s simple.”
There are a couple of different ways to purchase the products made at FLG Farms. For many, the most convenient way to buy products is through the business’s website, http://www.flgfarms.com/shop-our-products.html
For those who prefer to pick up their soap the same day, customers may order from the farm and get their supplies through the Wilkes Drive Through Small Business Hub. Pick up runs on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Stardust Cellars & Taproom, located at 1202 Curtis Bridge Rd in Wilkesboro.
Amie Knowles is a writer for NWNC Magazine.
