UNITY — It was a visit to two Maine farms on Open Creamery Day several years ago that inspired Kirby Carleton to start a herd of goats of her own.

Carleton, of Unity, said she had two great-uncles who operated cow dairies, and she dreamed of having a diversified homestead of her own. But after visiting the creameries, Carleton said she fell in love with goats.

Now, Carleton runs Honey Wilde Farm, making cheese and soap from her goats’ milk.

“I tell people to be really careful when they’re here about how excited they get because it like took over my life,” Carleton said Sunday morning, as she opened the farm at 42 Cross Road in Unity to the public for Open Creamery Day.

The Maine Cheese Guild, which supports Maine cheesemakers, organizes the statewide event, now in its 17th year. 

Open Creamery Day aims to educate people about the tradition of cheesemaking and the animals that make the milk. The guild organizes other annual events, too, including the Maine Cheese Festival.

Along with Honey Wilde Farm, nine other creameries were participating in this year’s Open Creamery Day, spread around mostly the central part of the state, from Appleton to Farmington, and as far south as Alfred.

Carleton said Open Creamery Day typically draws about 100 people to Honey Wilde Farm — a decent crowd, but not quite as big as a kid-hugging event showing off the baby goats in the spring.

At the farm in Unity, families were able to meet Carleton’s herd of 26 goats — four musky bucks and 22 does. This spring, after the kidding season, Carleton said she maxed out at 96 goats.

She said they are all Nigerian Dwarves and Mini Nubians, two breeds known for having milk with high butter fat content, making for creamy cheese.

Shoppers on Sunday could also check out the creamery’s selection of cheeses, including feta and Maine blueberry chevre, as well as goat milk soap in a range of scents and beeswax-based lotion. A handful of other vendors selling baked goods, lemonade, cheese and other products were on site, too. 

Carleton started the farm in 2017 and got her dairy license in 2020, which allowed her to expand from selling soap to cheese. With the guidance of a state dairy inspector, she was able to convert a bedroom into a space where she can make cheese.

“Anybody starting in this should do that,” Carleton said about contacting an inspector. “Talk to them before you start because they are so helpful.”

Unlike other dairies that may close for the winter, Carleton said she stays open and has milk from the goats year-round, as she breeds half the herd at a time on an alternating basis.

The farm sells its products weekly at the United Farmers Market of Maine in Belfast. Sunday also marked the grand opening of a small storefront at the farm, which will be open for the holiday season on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to Carleton.

Carleton said her children, nephew, father, ex-husband and mother-in-law sometimes help her out, mostly with sales. But running the farm and creamery is mostly Carleton’s responsibility, even as she works a full-time office job at Athenahealth.

“Especially, during the breeding season, I’ll be up all night with goats having babies, and then I’ll go to work without going to bed,” Carleton said.