[vetsinag] Farm Tip Tuesday: Are Dairy Goats Right for Your Farm?

[Robyn Metzger]

This week's tip comes from Livestock Specialist Linda Coffey's latest blog post. She offers insights from her 19 years of raising dairy goats, and highlights important questions to ask before you get started. Below is an excerpt; to read the entire post visit https://www.ncat.org/dairy-goats-for-the-farm/.

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Dairy Goats for the Farm
Every farm needs a purpose, a goal, a mission. Ours included “Raising as much of our food as possible, while raising our children to be hard-working, responsible, appreciative, and close to nature and each other.” On our farm, the dairy goats helped accomplish all of that. They enable us to raise our own beef, pork and lamb, and produce our own milk and cheese. We also sell registered kids and milking does to other families, and participate in the county fair. In addition, we participate in twice-daily chores, experience the wonder of new life, and enjoy the personalities and quirks of these productive and beautiful animals. If dairy goats might help you accomplish your farm goals, here are some considerations.

  *   Know why you want goats, and what you will expect from the enterprise. What scale will it be?

  *   If you are thinking about a commercial dairy, rather than a small farm sideline, there is a lot of research to do. See ATTRA’s Dairy Goats: Sustainable Production<https://attra.ncat.org/product/dairy-goats-sustainable-production/> and contact me at lindac at ncat.org for assistance. See also Carol Delaney<https://vtsheepandgoat.org/members/carol-delaney/>’s book, Starting a Commercial Dairy<https://www.caroldelaneyconsulting.com/publications.html>, and the work of Gianaclis Caldwell<https://gianacliscaldwell.com/>. Visit other farms and ask questions. And definitely check out the many valuable resources at Langston University<http://www.luresext.edu/>. You will need to figure out a market, and how to comply with regulations.

  *   The breed you choose is less important than starting with healthy, quality goats. We benefited from our mentor and from a breeder with years of experience in a commercial goat dairy (thank you, Debbie Taylor!). I highly recommend that you find a mentor and learn all you can before going to look at goats for your farm. Take someone knowledgeable with you if you possibly can.

  *   Be sure you have the resources needed to care for your animals well. This includes time and money for the feed and especially a good forage supply, including pasture, browse, and hay. A good resource for exploring is the ATTRA publication Small Scale Livestock Production<https://attra.ncat.org/product/small-scale-livestock-production/>, which includes a sample budget.

Additional resources from ATTRA:

ATTRA publications
Illustrated Guide to Sheep and Goat Production<https://attra.ncat.org/product/an-illustrated-guide-to-sheep-and-goat-production/>
Sheep and Goats: Frequently Asked Questions<https://attra.ncat.org/product/sheep-and-goats-frequently-asked-questions/>

ATTRA podcasts
Episode 43: White River Creamery<https://attra.ncat.org/raising-nigerian-dwarf-goats/>
Episode 54: Baetje Farms, Part 1<https://attra.ncat.org/building-and-marketing-a-small-ruminant-dairy-operation-part-1/>
Episode 55: Baetje Farms, Part 2<https://attra.ncat.org/building-and-marketing-a-small-ruminant-dairy-operation-part-2/>

Linda also recommends reading the book Dairy Goat Production Basics<http://www.luresext.edu/sites/default/files/DGPB_orderform.pdf> from Langston University. If you're interested in breeding dairy goats, she recommends visiting the American Dairy Goat Association<http://adga.org/> website.

If you are interested in raising dairy goats, please feel free to email Linda directly at lindac at ncat.org. You can also call 800-346-9140.

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With best regards to all,


Robyn Metzger

Program Specialist/Armed to Farm Coordinator

National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)

www.ncat.org/armedtofarm<http://www.ncat.org/armedtofarm>

www.attra.ncat.org<http://www.attra.ncat.org>

479-442-9824
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