Goats
- Industry Profile
- Production Practices
- Nutrition
- Health
- Reproduction
- Nutrient Management
- Agricultural Engineering
- Marketing
- Business Management
- Labor
- Contacts
- Links
- Publications
Industry Profile
The New Hampshire goat industry is generally made up of part-time operators, backyard farmers and 4-H projects. There are seven licensed goat dairies who are producing milk for the public. These either ship to a processing plant or make farmstead cheese. There is also a growing interest in meat goats, which are raised for the ethnic market and often slaughtered at a body weight of 50 lbs. The Boer breed is generally raised for meat or cross-bred with dairy goats.
The goat industry is heavily concentrated in the south central part of New Hampshire, with some along the Connecticut River Valley near a Vermont processing plant. Goat dairies range in size from 10 to over 100 milking does. New Hampshire has a total of about 2,000 dairy goats.
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Production Practices
Most dairy goats in New Hampshire are housed in old, modified structures. Often these were cow barns, chicken houses or sheds. Very few can justify the capital investment of new facilities. Generally animals are housed on a bed-pack made up of a build up of sawdust and hay. Some farms let this build up for four – six months and others clean from the pack weekly.
Many goat farms have a limited land base and use any available open land for pasture and purchase most of their feed. Most use a hay-based diet supplemented with a commercial dairy grain fed according to production.
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Nutrition
Some of the larger dairy goat producers have a working relationship with their feed representative, who assists them in calculating their feed nutrition. Most goat owners buy grain by the bag at their local feed store and try to properly match grain feeding to forage quality. It is recommended that forages be analyzed at a lab several times a year so rations are properly balanced. Hay is usually the base forage supplemented with 16 or 20% protein dairy grain. Rations are balanced according to the National Research Council (NRC) recommendations for dairy goats. A dairy cattle reference which has several good feed composition tables is the Dairy Nutrition Manual, Bulletin No 2107, a publication of the New England Committee on Dairy Nutrition.
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Health
Due to the scarcity of large animal veterinarians, many goat owners have learned how to care for sick animals or get the help of other goat owners. Conditions often needing veterinarian assistance are: abnormal births, mastitis, metabolic diseases, vaccinations and injuries.
Some of the major health concerns are C.A.E. (caprine arthritic encephalitis), internal parasites and sore mouth. To control C.A.E. some breeders have used a very strict system of only feeding milk replacer or pasteurized milk to young kids to prevent the passage of this central nervous system disease. Internal parasites are controlled by proper pasture rotation and the regular use of de-wormer medication. Over-eating disease can be a problem in young animals and is controlled by careful management and vaccination. Goats being used to supply milk to the market should be regularly tested for tuberculosis (T.B.) and brucellosis.
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Reproduction
Artificial insemination (A.I) is used on some of the larger farms, but most use natural service. People either own their own bucks or transport the does to another farm for breeding.
Goats are seasonal breeders and there is a lot of interest in extending the season to even out the supply of milk throughout the year. Months of estrus have been extended by controlling the daylight in their housing areas or using hormone therapy.
New Hampshire is a selenium deficient area, so supplemental feeding and injections are recommended to promote good reproductive health.
Accurate pregnancy confirmation is difficult in goats. Some farmers do this by external feeling of the animal’s abdomen. Ultrasound can be used, but are expensive. Does that go unbred are expensive to maintain and contribute less milk for marketing.
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Nutrient Management
The state of New Hampshire operates by the Best Management Practices (BMPs) for nutrient management in agricultural production. These guidelines apply to the handling and application of manure and fertilizer to land and were written by agricultural specialists representing the N.H. Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, USDA agencies, and UNH Cooperative Extension. It is a voluntary compliance program, but any violations are mediated by the N.H. Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food.
The BMPs establish guidelines for handling water run-off, manure storage and fertilizer application that promote good environmental stewardship.
Since many goat farms house their animals on bed-packs, the manure is often stored under the animals and removed at various intervals throughout the year. This results in a pile of compacted hay and manure that is hard to spread. If manure piles are turned and aerated, they can become valuable compost. Some goat owners lack adequate land for spreading manure and they have to contract to have it hauled away.
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Agricultural Engineering
The University of New Hampshire doesn’t have an agricultural engineer, but this service is available to N.H. farmers through the support of the Andrew C. and Margaret R. Sigler Foundation of Norwich, Vermont. This grant covers the cost of an on-site visit to N.H. farms to deal with agricultural engineering issues. The engineer is Dr. Stan Weeks, formerly a Cornell professor and an Agway engineer, who is now an independent consultant.
Stan specializes in dairy, but can cover a broad area of technology issues. He has helped people with irrigation, apple storage, barn design, manure pits, etc. To obtain an appointment, call John Porter at (603)225-5505 Ext. 22.
UNH Cooperative Extension also holds one of the most complete collections in the country of the old USDA Plan Service files. This includes old idea plans for many agriculturally related buildings, animal handling, equipment and specialty facilities. These are organized by the USDA plan number system and contain many things of interest to small scale and beginner farmers.
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Marketing
Most milk from dairy goats is marketed as cheese. There is a limited market for bottled fluid milk as returns and expiration dates can be a problem. There are limited opportunities for wholesale, bulk sales of goat milk, so most producers make farmstead cheeses.
Soft cheeses, cheddar, spreads and feta are commercially produced on goat dairies. These are sold through restaurants, stores, mail order and farmer’s markets. Most dairy goat farms have to produce, process, and market their own product.
Goat meat is often sold through ethnic channels to animal buyers who cater to ethnic markets. There are also some livestock auction houses that sell live goats which are procured for meat.
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Business Management
Help in farm management is offered through UNH Cooperative Extension. This is done through personal farm visits and group meetings. The personal visits can cover areas of budgeting, business planning, estate planning, decision making, goal setting, etc.
Ag-Biz is a short course that runs for 4-5 sessions and teaches farmers management principles in classroom style. Several meetings are held each year under the heading of “Risk Management” and cover the areas of crop management, diversification, proper planning etc, to minimize financial risk.
Michael Sciabarrasi is the primary contact at: mike.sciabarrasi@unh.edu Tel. No. (603) 862-3234. Also see the Farm Business Management section.
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Labor
Procuring labor is a major problem on all N.H. farms. The stronger the economy the harder it is to find farm labor. Small farmers often rely on part-time labor, school students or internships.
The going rate for general farm labor is between $ 8.00 - $ 10.00/hour. Many dairy goat farms rely on family labor. Care needs to be taken to follow the labor laws when hiring employees. The primary reference for N.H. and Federal labor laws is the “Review of Selected State and Federal Laws that Apply to Agricultural Employees” supported by First Pioneer Farm Credit and UNH Cooperative Extension and written by Carol Zintel and Michael Sciabarrasi.
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Contacts:
Top of pageUNH Personnel
Dr. Pete Erickson – UNH Dairy Specialist
Peter.Erickson@unh.edu
Tel No: (603) 862-1909
Michal Lunak – UNH Dairy Specialist
Michal.Lunak@unh.edu
Tel No: (603) 787-6944
John Porter – UNH Dairy Specialist
John.Porter@unh.edu
Tel No. (603) 862-1341
Tina Savage – Extension Educator, Agricultural Resources & Environmental Stewardship
Tina.Savage@unh.edu
Tel No. (603) 539-3331
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Links:
- Agricultural Databases for Decision Support (ADDS)
- American Dairy Goat Association
- FSA
- Granite State Dairy Promotion
- Iowa State Extension Crop Publications
- Iowa State Extension Livestock Publications
- Langston University
- New England Agricultural Statistics
- New England Dairy, Crop Livestock
- New England Dairy & Food Council
- N.H. Dairy Goat Association
- N.H. Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food
- N.H. Farm Bureau
- NRCS
- Small Dairy Projet
- Small Ruminant Dairy Project
- USDA
- Virtual Library for Dairy Production
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Publications
- Dairy Goat Management - #19
- Dairy Goat Production Practices - #20
- Meat Goat Budgets
- Ten Most Asked Questions About Dairy Goats
