Dana Gentile Roberts

Dana Gentile Roberts runs Darlin’ Doe Farm, with her husband Chris, in Germantown, NY. Growing up in suburban Long Island, Dana dreamed of farm living since a very young age. Her parents kept a large vegetable garden in their backyard and she has always cared for animals.

While living in Brooklyn, Dana started a CSA in her neighborhood and met Hudson Valley farmers who encouraged her to live out her life-long dream.

How did you become a Good Meat® producer?

We wanted to know where our meat was coming from and that it was raised with care. The best way for us to do this was to raise the animals ourselves and then to also raise enough for our community.

At Darlin’ Doe Farm we raise goats, rabbits, and chickens naturally on 20 acres of pasture and woodlands in Germantown, New York. We believe in a natural and holistic approach to raising healthy livestock. We believe it is important to grow healthy, high quality meat and to be a local source for naturally raised goat meat.

What is one thing you wish more consumers knew about raising livestock?

I wish more customers understood how much time and money actually goes into raising meat. I also wish they understood that the value of meat is much higher than it is generally sold for.

What meat, or meat dish, do you eat most regularly and what do you eat for a special occasion?

Roasted chicken and ground goat is probably what we eat the most of. Ground goat is great for burgers, chili, tacos, sloppy joes, and meatloaf. For a special occasion, such as a family reunion, we would smoke a whole goat and chickens.

What is one of your biggest challenges as a Good Meat® producer?

Working with the USDA slaughterhouse is our biggest challenge. In order to sell retail to customers and wholesale to restaurants we need to process our goats at a USDA slaughter facility. Many slaughterhouses do not take small livestock such as goats and it’s often hard to secure slaughter dates. Once we do, we have to drive our animals long distances. We’ve been lucky to have a good relationship with our current slaughterhouse, however COVID-19 has made getting slaughter dates more difficult.