Katie Radosevic Honored

Girl turns milk into money

At 15, Katie Radosevic is among the youngest business owners in the country. For nearly four years, she has made and marketed her own fine goat milk soap under the label Bea's Beauty Bar. Radosevic, a junior at Verde Valley School in the Village of Oak Creek, got her start in 4-H when she decided to raise and show dairy goats at the family's Two Bob Ranch Caprine Dairy in Cornville. Caprine is to goats as equine is to horses, Radosevic said.
Along with the Nubian and Toggenburg goats, a breed from Switzerland, and humans at the ranch are Gus the goose, four cats, two dogs, several chickens and a cockatiel who lives in the kitchen. "We've had goats now for about five years and my business is starting its fourth year," Radosevic said. "Goats can provide a lot of products. I think they are very underutilized in this country."
The soap got its name from one of Radosevic's 13 goats, Beatrice. She is the mother and grand- mother of most of the other Nubian goats. "It just seemed fitting. We started making the soap when Beatrice gave birth to three stillborn kids. We had to milk her right away and had more milk than we knew what to do with," Radosevic said. "We researched and now make the soap. cheese and caramel. We also drink it, but mostly its the soap."
Goats' milk is naturally homogenized. The fat globules are smaller than cow's milk, which makes it easier to digest. "It's very close to human milk," Radosevic said. Radosevic received a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant about two years ago to build a milking parlor. She and her dad, Rod, built the shed with running water and electricity.
Each goat produces an average of about three quarts to one gallon of milk a day, depending on the breed and age of the goat. Right now, me shed is vacant because Radosevic is drying off her nannies, getting them ready for [weeding. "They have to stop lactating for a few months before they breed," she said. When the kids are born, they take all of the milk the goats produce until they are weaned at about 2 or 3 months old. "Then I start milking them and use it for the soap," Radosevic said
The goats usually eat alfalfa, but when they are on milking they get grains corn, oats, barley and some molasses to sweeten up the milk. "We find mat's the feed they look forward to," Radosevic said.
When asked where she learned to make the soap, Radosevic blushed a little and said, "From a book. We tried different recipes and found one we liked. Then added a few ingredients of our own and made it perfect."
The "we" is Radosevic and her mother, Patti. Making the soap is a two-person operation. One combines the milk and lye while the other works with the oils. At precisely the right matched temperature, the ingredients are combined. Mom also is involved with the soap making because Radosevic is not yet old enough to have a driver's license and Patti needs to provide the transportation.
The milk/lye mixture is added, slowly, into the 3 heated oils. It has to be done. that way because of the chemical reaction, Patti said
Goat milk, because of the fat content and natural vitamins, can be nourishing for the skin. To make a batch of 32 bars of soap, it takes about three pints of 1|milk. Each 3y2-ounce bar is one-third milk. After the milk/lye is added to the oils, Radosevic adds essential oils in fragrances such as lavender, rose, cucumber melon, coconut vanilla or myrrh until the aroma satisfies her. "Sometimes I add oatmeal or poppy seeds for texture," she said. "All of my ingredients are organic. "It also provides a little, exfoliant feature," Patti said. As a final step before pouring the soap into the mold, borax and sugar are added. "We're not sure why the sugar, but we put it in because we're afraid to mess it up," Radosevic said. After Radosevic pours the liquid into the mold and it cools for 24 hours, she cuts the finished block into bars and puts them on a rack to cure for six weeks.
If not done precisely right, a batch won't work and would need to be thrown away, "but we haven't lost a batch in a long time," Radosevic said. So far, Radosevic makes just the bar soap, but said-she is working on a recipe for lotion, "It's difficult to find one that's shelf stable and uses fresh milk," she said. When not making Bea's Beauty Bar, Radosevic sheers the Angora goats, which produce mohair. From that she spins the wool and weaves, knits or crochets with the yam.
In all Radosevic does with her goats, she tries to promote sustainable living, Patti said of her daughter. "I think we should start using goats to their full potential," Radosevic said.
For more information on Bea's Beauty Bar call 649-3575.

To reach Lu Stitt, call 634-8551, or e-mail to lu@larsonnewspapers.com