If you have a farm or a piece of land filled with fresh grass, goat farming may be a good idea to consider.
Farming goats is another opportunity for you to work from home.
The usual way is to breed the goats and sell off the offspring, but it is not entirely easy actually. The quality of goats is very important.
To ensure that and to be able to make a profit, you should buy goats that are registered, such as goats that have appeared in national conformation show rings. Goats that are superior milkers can also be considered.
Kids (goats less than one year old) can be sold at hundreds of dollars each, especially those marketed at shows and those proven to be top milkers.
For instance, people are willing to buy the mother of a doeling (a young unbred female goat) for thousands of dollars at special sales.
Below are some other ways to make money from goats:
Table of Contents
1. Sell the Milk
You can get a gallon of milk or more in a day from a quality dairy goat.
A gallon is equal to about 8lbs.
Take note that certain rules have to be adhered to when selling goat’s milk. The rules that apply may be different in all areas.
You may need to check with your local Food and Drug Administration (FDA) office or the milk inspector for the full details. To locate a milk inspector, just get in touch with your local cattle dairy owner.
The market is good for the sale of goat’s milk for non-human consumption and it is the only legal method under normal circumstances. Those who adore it are the dog breeders and the wildlife rehabilitators.
Even so, you have to know the way to safely milk your dairy goats and store the goat’s milk. Carefully count how many dairy goats you would need to have before launching a commercial dairy goat business.
Best Goats for Milk and Cheese
These breeds are known to produce better and more milk:
- Saanen
- Alpine
- Nubians
- Toggenburgs
- Oberhaslis
- he Guernsey
- Nigerians
- La Manchas
2. Sell the Meat
If you didn’t already know, goat meat is pretty expensive. The good thing is that there is a demand for it in the ethnic markets.
During the Easter and Christmas seasons, there will be large goat (kid) meat pick-ups within the dairy goat community.
How it works is that there are people who drive around to pick up the dairy goat kids at fixed locations from state to state. They also offer a good price for them. Boer goats are famous for the quality of their meat. They can also be cross-bred with dairy goats to produce better quality kids.
Best Goats for Meat
If you are raising meat goats, you should stick with breeds that are known to have good meat, like the followings:
- Boer
- Kiko
- Tennessee Meat Goat
- Genemaster
- Texmaster
- Savanna
- Spanish
3. Rent Them
It is widely known that goats make fantastic brush eaters. Their small size and agility enables them to reach difficult areas that tractors, for example, could not reach in the first place.
One of the most famous companies that does rent out goats is WeRentGoats.com.
The government also rents out goatherds which can clear the brushy areas that are prone to wildfires. California is an example as it makes regular use of such services.
To make your renting venture more complete, you need several reliable dogs to help you tend to the goats and for the protection of your livestock.
You can also install an electric fence system around your goat farm if you have the budget. A minimum of 50 heads of goats is sufficient. Any breed of goat is fine for this purpose.
