Making Money with Dairy Goats - Homestead Hustle (2024)

FAQs

Is dairy goat farming profitable? ›

They are a small, easy to manage dairy animal that most moderately-sized homesteads can support. There is a wide margin for profit with dairy goats.

Two mature does will produce about one gallon each per day for about 300 days. They get a two-month dry period before kidding each spring. 600 gallons at the average store price of $2.33/gallon = $1,398.

Grass fed goat meat can sell for $20 a pound! Even a smaller goat that processes 40 pounds of meat could net $800 in income. If you are not butchering your own goats, then the profit would be reduced by the butchering costs.

You can lose money with one or a hundred or a thousand. But generally speaking, you would probably want a dozen or so at least, because the more you have, the less work it takes, per goat, to look after them. Caring for a dozen in most cases won't take much more work than caring for three or four.

Recommended pasture area for one goat is 0.2-0.3 acres with 50 sq. ft. of exercise area per goat and an electric or woven wire fence is needed to retain goats in pasture or exercise area.

They also contribute to land regeneration and are highly sociable and trainable-making for a herd of energentic and amusing companions. Goats Provide All-Natural, Local Food If you want to have fresh, delicious milk on tap right in your backyard, you might like having goats.

A physical assessment by a technical person is ideal. But if you are willing to raise your goats in a stall fed system (Zero grazing), then 1 acre pasture land will be sufficient enough for raising 40-100 goats- The pastureland should have access to water throughout the year.

The Boer goat breed is highly productive and prefers to browse, making it an ideal meat goat breed to raise alongside cattle. Does often weigh around 200-225 pounds and mature bucks weigh 240-300 pounds. Breeding does are very prolific and can kid out more often than other breeds.

However, goats are very social animals. If you only purchase one goat, they may get lonely and loud, as they often call for company. It's best to raise at least two goats at a time. Preferably, we recommend purchasing both goats from the same herd so they're comfortable with one another.

Age A market goat will be market ready at about 6–7 months old at county fair. December and January babies have the best chance of reaching the ideal weight.

Where is the best place to sell goats? ›

There are many advantages to marketing livestock through a public livestock auction, sale barn, or stockyard. It is convenient and easy. There are usually regular weekly sales. Sometimes, there are special graded sales or sales that cator to the increased demand for sheep and goats prior to various religious holidays.

The initial cost of purchasing a goat can vary widely depending on the breed, age, and sex of the goat. A healthy baby goat, or kid, can cost anywhere from $75 to $300, while an adult goat can cost between $200 and $500. However, some rare breeds or show-quality goats can cost thousands of dollars.

Goats are similar to sheep in that you can support about 6-8 goats on an acre of land. Because goats are browsers, not grazers, it will be important that the land you have will supply them with the sort of forage they like to eat—see below.

Goat farming is not only a traditional livelihood in many rural areas but also a growing industry worldwide due to its profitability and sustainability.

seasonal demand

The price of meat goats has been steadily on the rise for the last decade, according to Thorne. As the U.S. population continues to grow and more people immigrate to the U.S. from countries where goat meat consumption is the norm, Thorne expects demand and prices to remain strong.

Daily yields for goats vary from 1 to 9 litres (2 to 16 pints) a day in summer to half that or less in winter, according to the breed and quality of goat you purchase.

— Wisconsin is known as “America's Dairyland” thanks to its robust farming industry, but it's not just cows who helped the state earn that nickname. Wisconsin has more dairy goats than anywhere else in the nation.

The global goat milk products market size was estimated at USD 12.45 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% from 2023 to 2030.