By Malinda Geisler, content specialist, AgMRC, Iowa State University and revised February 2008 by Diane Huntrods, AgMRC, Iowa State University.

For more information or specific inquiries, please contact Madeline Schultz at schultz@iastate.edu.


Dairy goat milk and goat cheese (chevre) continue to see slow, steady growth trends as consumers are becoming more aware of the higher protein and lower cholesterol levels found in the products. Goat milk is regarded as a natural source of nutrients, an alternative to cow's milk and easy to digest.

Marketing
Dairy goat producers rely on direct market sales for milk and cheese products. Farmers' markets and Internet sales also offer market outlets. Some producers sell directly to retail stores and restaurants.

Production
In the United States, dairy goats are found in every state, but the largest number reside in Wisconsin (33,000 head), California (30,000 head) and Texas (25,000 head). As of January 2008, the United States had 3.02 million head of goats, up 3 percent from 2007. Of that total, 2.50 million were for breeding and 520,000 were for market. Milk goat inventory increased 4 percent to 305,000 head.

The major dairy goat breeds include Alpine, LaMancha, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen and Toggenburg. All of these breeds are capable of producing more than 2,000 pounds of milk per year. Yet, the United States imports more than 50 percent of the dairy goat cheese products consumed, most of that coming from France.

Value-added Uses
Goat milk is used for making cheese, yogurt and ice cream, and can be fed to other animals. In many states, the sale of raw or unpasteurized goat milk is illegal. Raw milk can be used to make cheese as long as the cheese ages 60 days or more before sale. Pasteurized milk must be used for fresh cheese. Another possible dairy goat product is soap.

In the past decade, goat cheese was regarded as one of the fastest-growing segments within specialty cheese. Although goat’s milk can be used to make any sort of cheese, the cheeses traditionally made from goat’s milk include feta, gjetost, chabichou and pyramide. Regardless of the variety, goat cheese is gourmet. Restaurants are using goat cheese on everything from salads, pizzas and entrees to dessert.

Like dairy cow cheese, the demand for reduced-fat goat cheese has significantly increased. Because the crumbly properties of goat cheese make the reduced-fat variety similar to the original in taste and texture, some specialty cheesemakers are focusing on this niche market. 

Outlook
Dairy goat products will likely continue to occupy an important, expanding niche market. Challenges include the seasonality of milk production. Maintaining a uniform, year-round supply of goat milk is difficult due to seasonal reproductive cycles. Goat products are specialty food products and are not commonly found in mainstream grocery stores.

Until recently, federal regulations required that cheeses aged less than 60 days be made from pasteurized milk, preventing raw milk cheese from being exported. However, in September 2007, the U.S. government approved a raw milk health certificate that enabled U.S. cheesemakers to tap a new market, the European Union raw milk cheese market. 

Marketing

• American Cheese Society - Founded in 1983, this society assists farmstead, artisanal and specialty cheesemakers and specialty foods retailers from the United States, Canada and Europe, providing education and promoting American cheeses.   
• American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) - The ADGA collects, records and preserves the pedigrees of dairy goats and provides genetic management and related services to dairy goat breeders.
• American Goat Society - A member-run organization committed to the support and advancement of the U.S. dairy goat industry.
• Dairy Goat Journal - This subscription publication has articles on production, marketing and health issues of interest to goat owners.
• E (Kika) de la Garza American Institute for Goat Research, Langston University, Oklahoma - This institute focuses research on dairy goat nutrition.
• National Sheep Industry Improvement Center - This center provides financial assistance for the enhancement and marketing of sheep and goat production.
• Outlook for a Small Farm Meat Goat Industry for California, University of California Small Farm Center, 2006.
• Sheep and Goats, National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA, February 2008.
• The Specialist Cheesemakers Association, Great Britain. 

• California Goat Cheese, Part 2, New Farm magazine - Two different goat dairies use direct marketing to sell products.
• Canadian Dairy Goat, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2006. 
• Dairy Goat Enterprise Budget, University of Wisconsin, 2003 - This budget, written in Excel 2000, includes an example, a test budget and two blank budget formats.
• Dairy Goat Library - Provides education and support to goat milk producers.
• Dairy Goat Production Guide, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 2003.
• Dairy Goats: Sustainable Production, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), 2004 - This online publication overviews five major considerations when planning for dairy goat production.
• Goat Milk Cheese Manufacturing, E (Kika) de la Garza American Institute for Goat Research, Langston University, Oklahoma - This site reviews the steps to making cheddar, low-fat cream cheese and mozzarella.
• Quality Assurance from Milking to Processing, E (Kika) de la Garza American Institute for Goat Research, Langston University, Oklahoma - The manufacturing of goat milk products like fluid milk, cheese and ice cream are subject to the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance. A standard operating procedure must be in place on dairy goat farms.
• Sample Costs for a 500-Head Dairy Goat Operation, University of California Cooperative Extension, 2005.

Businesses/Case Studies

• A not so raw deal, New Farm magazine, 2005 - This dairy produces 13,500 gallons of goat milk a year, which the owner sells direct to consumers as yogurt, soft cheeses, feta and in its raw form.
• Chatham dairy owners to share success story, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, 2004 - The owners of Celebrity Dairy, www.celebritydairy.com, make goat cheese and operate a bed and breakfast.
• Coonridge Organic Goat Cheese, New Mexico - This 300-acre farm sells cheese from certified organic, free-range goats.
• Dairy Farmer Takes Time to Reassess the Real Meaning of Success, New Farm magazine, 2003 - At Dancing Winds Farm in Minnesota, inadequate labor led the owner to scale back the goat dairy and develop a bed and breakfast.
• FireFlyFarms Organic, Inc., Bittinger, Maryland - This farm's artisan cheeses are all made by hand with milk from their own goats.
• Iowa Group Adds Value to Goat Herd, Market to Market, Iowa Public Television, 2002 - Northern Prairie Chevre' creates gourmet soft goat cheese in central Iowa.  
• Poplar Hill Dairy Goat Farm - This Minnesota farm sells Grade A goat milk and goat cheese products.
• Valuing labor and improving efficiency on an integrated farm, Center for Integrated Ag Systems, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2004 - Using milk from their goats to make goat milk soap was a way to accomplish this farm family's goals. 

Links checked February 2008.