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Writer's pictureLong Creek Farm

Top Reasons to Raise Your Own Goats

Updated: Sep 16


Milk

In some places in the U.S., it is very hard and sometimes impossible to get unpasteurized milk. Although you can find organic milk the goats used to produce that milk are often kept in small confinement never being allowed to eat grass, be outside or interact with other goats.


Pasture raised and unpasteurized goat milk is high in vitamin A, butter fat, and protein. It is more digestible than cow milk because the fat globules are smaller, possibly making it an option for people with dairy allergies.

When you raise your own goats for milk you know exactly what is being fed to the goats and how fresh the milk is.




Meat

Goat meat is a lean meat and is said to taste similar to venison.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the demand for goat meat is expected to keep growing, which would make a good market for anyone trying to sell their meat.

Weed Control


Goats will happily eat all your poison ivy blackberries and other annoying


weeds. Some people even rent out their goats for other people to use as weed control.



Pack Animal

Goats make good pack animals as they are friendly, smart and enjoy being with people.

Fiber

If you know how to process the cashmere you can turn it into yarn and either sell it or make your own clothes. Sweaters and other clothes made from cashmere are very expensive, by raising your own fiber goats you can produce cashmere at a lower price.



Education



Children can raise goats to milk, sell the kids or raise to show.

Envolving children in farming also teaches them responsibility. One of the mini breeds would be best for children, such as Nigerians who have calm, sweet personalities and also produce a good amount of milk, sometimes small amounts of cashmere and are popular for developing mini breeds.


Profit

Selling kids is the biggest source of profit for most goat raisers, the sales from the kids can be used to pay for hay during the winter and for the grain fed to the does during milking.



If the sales from the kids covers all feed costs, then your milk is free!

In most places it can be difficult to sell raw milk due to regulations, but some states still allow it. And in most places in the U.S., all you have to do is meet the requirements.



Selling goat meat is very profitable, and goat meat popularity is expected to continue to rise.

If you own a fiber breed selling the wool can help pay for the feed bills and make some money too.

Companion Animal

Goats are known to have a calming effect on horses and are sometimes kept for that reason only. Goats are heard animals and need another animal to stay with them (preferably another goat).

Developing New Breeds


Using breeds such as the Nigerian to create mini breeds is becoming popular, people with small acreage are more likely to buy miniature yet functional goats. Some breeds that have resulted are: Nigoras (cross between Nigerians and angoras), mini silkies (Nigerian and fainting goat), and mini dairy breeds which are a cross between any full-size dairy breed and Nigerians. Mini meat goats are not as popular as the rest since the yield isn't worth it in most cases.










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