Perched on the top of a hill off a dirt road, the property that is now the Country Goods USA farm has been an Idaho homestead for almost a century. The neighbor to the farm grew up on the road, then raised her family on the same hill and has lived on the road for almost 6 decades. The hill has seen happy times and has also seen tragedy. In 1999 a wildfire swept rapidly through the area completely destroying the original home. The fire stricken land was abandoned by the previous owners and put up for sale.
In 2004 the land was purchased by a family who decided to build a dreamy custom home. The built-to-last home had top-notch craftsmanship and unprecedented attention to detail. The property was restored and planted with park-like lawns, a large pond, a custom basalt fountain and pasture areas which housed miniature horses.
In 2009 the recession hit Idaho especially hard. The house and the property found its way into foreclosure and sat empty for a long period of time. The pasture was abandoned, the lawns died and the beloved property fell into abandoned disrepair.
The property was rescued from foreclosure in 2011 by a local family. They found the house abandoned on the hill with the once park-like lawns dead, the doors to the house open and birds had taken up residence inside. After purchasing the property, they worked diligently to restore the beauty of the grounds as well as the interior of the home. They spent 7 years on the property until selling it in 2018 to the current owners.
Today the property has been restored to its full potential and houses the micro farm that contributes to the Country Goods USA products. On the property is a beautiful 3200 square foot garden that grows an abundance of seasonal produce. The front pasture is home to a variety of dairy goats and is planned for future livestock. The house and property is well-loved by both people and animals who reside there.
We have a wide variety of animals on the farm all of whom contribute to the happiness that makes us love being in the country. From turtles to chickens all the way to dogs and goats, we introduce the animal clan.
The story of the Country Goods USA beginning is pretty simple, really. It all started one year with Sarah’s senior project. She was tasked to come up with an original business idea for her senior project. Once the idea was approved, she had to build the business and present it to her Senior class. This was a non-negotiable assignment – her graduation depended on it.
She enlisted the help of Heather to be her mentor and, together they came up with the idea of Country Goods USA. This started with just the name, a rough looking logo and a single batch of soap. Once the soap was created (and the first batch was pretty interesting), they built a mock website and put together a very simple marketing plan. Sarah presented her project to her class and passed with accolades.
This experience ignited a passion in the both of them, which enabled them to continue exploring the possibility of actually making Country Goods USA a business. Every Wednesday became soap-making day which quickly became Saturday too. There were hours and hours of research, product trials and ingredient additions, all to come up with the perfect soap. When the trials were done they had 15 different skin nourishing, awesome smelling, wholesome soaps. This was the start and the company has grown from there. Today we offer a full line of bath products, canned goods, raw goats milk, goat cheese and Country Goods USA apparel wear.
Country Goods USA is a company fueled by the love of the country, the wonder of the farm and life lived sweeter on a dirt road. We live farm to table and love every second of life in the country. No matter where you live, there is a bit of Country inside every one of us.We invite you to take home a little piece of this life in every handcrafted item we offer.
Sarah was the original founder of the Country Goods USA brand and grew up in the country. Throughout her school years she was actively involved in the 4-H Swine, Goat and rabbit program. As she got into her highschool years she joined FFA and focused on a steer project. She has always had a love for all animals, especially horses. She is the quintessential country girl.
As a founder of the brand, Sarah has participated in the creation of
all the Country Goods USA products. She has been an essential part of
building the brand and without her original idea, Country Goods Usa would not
be the business it is today.
Sarah also has a deep love for the United States. After Highschool she enlisted in the Army and has dedicated the next five years to this endeavor. She is still very much a part of the Country Goods USA story and you will be able to see her journey more on our Facebook page.
The youngest member of the Country Goods USA team is Jilly. Jilly has always had an entrepreneurial heart and never misses the chance to help in the creation of our recipes and ideas.
Jilly also has a deep love for all animals (except for the meat chickens). She participates in 4-H with a focus on swine and goats. She has become very proficient in collecting milk for our dairy goats and is rapidly becoming a master in the garden.
You can see more of Jilly’s journeys on Country Goods TV, our YouTube channel. She is often showcasing what we are doing on the farm, in the soap room and with the goats.
There always has to be a boss, even in the laid back vibe of the country and Heather is the boss.
She grew up in the country, primarily riding horses on her grandparents ranch. In her adult life she moved to suburbia and became a lifelong business owner. But as they say, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.
In 2018 Heather moved to the Country Goods USA farm and quickly got back to her roots. Seeing the possibilities that country life had to offer, she quickly got to work building the gardens, milking the goats, and learning how to make cheese and preserve food. She had a love for soap making and was excited to jump in when Sarah needed a project for Senior year.
With her background in business, Heather runs all aspects of the Country Goods USA operations. You will often find her on the property tending to the chores and tasks that go along with being in the farm.
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