Marketing A Goat Farm
How To Market A Goat Business
The goat business is a wonderful place to start if you're looking for a small, manageable farm enterprise. Goats don't eat the same amount of hay that cows and horses do and they don't require specialized fences or buildings. However, you will need to understand how to market your product so that it is an economical venture for you and your family. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Decide what type of goats you'd like to have and how many. Most goat owners prefer Nigerian Dwarf Goats because they produce a large amount of milk for their size, compared to other dairy breeds. Your herd should consist of about seven does and one male in order to produce enough milk for your family. It is also wise to have about seven more does that you can sell in order to make room for the new goats that are born each year, or sell your excess milk.
- Purchase your goats from a reputable breeder in order to get healthy stock. Check with breeders around your area in order to obtain the price for each breed.
- Once you have your goats, it is important to keep them confined in a small area until they are able to graze on their own. If you're raising dairy goats before you can milk them, be sure that they are fed 3-5 pounds of good quality hay daily, along with several cups of grain. Make sure the hay is fresh and not moldy. After you have milked your does, it's a good idea to scrub them with a very mild soap solution in order to get rid of any bacteria that may be present on their bodies.
- If you plan to keep a buck with your small herd, he should be castrated within his first week of life. This will protect him from getting illnesses and becoming aggressive towards you or your family as he gets older. If you plan to breed your does, take them through a heat cycle before 'bucking' them so that they produce more milk for you in return.
- The end result of any dairy goat is delicious, nutritious milk. It's safe to say that you'll get about 6-7 quarts of milk from one doe every day during the peak milking season, which runs from May until October. Make sure your goats are healthy by checking for lumps and cuts on their bodies each time they're milked.
- Growing grass or hay, and then feeding it to your livestock is much more economical than purchasing the feed at the store. If you don't have any land for your goats to roam on, purchase a small round bale of hay (1/4-1/3 of a ton) in order to get them through the winter months when there isn't much pasture area.
- To store your hay, you can stack it or use a bunker for storage. The stack method is sometimes more economical because you can build stacks as high as you need them to be, and then allow the goats access to the hay by cutting a few bales from each stack. You'll want to keep about a week's worth of hay for your goats during the winter months so they won't run out.
- If you plan to sell your dairy goat milk, you'll need to pasteurize it first to ensure safety and quality as well as create a marketable product. The easiest method is called "wash heating", which involves heating the milk to 145 degrees Fahrenheit, holding the temperature for 30 minutes, and then cooling it quickly. If you'd like to pasteurize your milk using direct heat instead of steam, hold the temperature at 161 degrees F for 20 seconds.
Many people think that marketing your dairy goat business is easy, but it can actually become very difficult if you aren't prepared. The more you know about marketing your dairy goat farm, the less likely you are to lose money on the venture and increase your chances of success instead. Done correctly you'll have fun and also make money ready for when you retire. Even in retirement, it's easy to keep a couple of goats at home, if you like.