Ihave a small organic produce farm in so. NY State. I can dedicate about 3.5 acreas plus an old dairy barn. Half could be pasture and half a shale or rocky flat area. Can there be any profit to be made from this small acreage?

-- tom reilly (streilly@warwick.net), January 10, 2002

Answers

Goats are wonderful, but if you are going to count the $ value of your time, I don't think you'll make much money from them. If you want to have goats and want them to pay for themselves, you should be able to do that, but it is a lot of work. from what I have seen, it also takes years before you get to the place where your stock is in demand and goes for really great prices. It takes going to goat shows, going on DHIR test if you can, and linear appraisal. And it takes culling, and using good stock to begin with. If you decide to go this way, I highly recommend using artificial insemination, you can use the best bucks in the country for a fraction of what it would cost to buy that buck, and you can use the greatest bucks of the past long after they are dead and gone.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), January 10, 2002.

Tom, I would suggest meat goats. There is a good market for meat goats and you are pretty close to where they(goats) are trucked into from all over the country. You might go for purebed Boer and sell to others, or get percentage Boers and sell them for meat. Good luck. karen

-- karen in kansas (kansasgoats@iwon.com), January 10, 2002.

I would do the meat goats too. We have dairy goats and have stopped registering them due to no ne really seems interested in the papers. Guess this is just cow country...norther PA. Check out the meat goat producers in your area. Check with the local farm vet or ask at the feed stores...or check out your area on the web. Good Luck !!

-- Helena (windyacs@npacc.net), January 11, 2002.

Hi Tom, visit as many places as you can, both meat and dairy. There is a huge ethnic market for goat meat in your area, but with only 3.5 acres you will have a hard time making a profit on this. You can't compete with all the cheap imported goat meat, how sad that you direct competition won't be the guy down the road with meat goats, but will be the guy overseas! There is also more progressive minds living near larger cities and especially on both coasts, and start up cheese plants that supply resturants, farmers markets etc. are always from your area. So selling milk to these folks yourself, or making the cheese and selling it along with your produce is another thought. And of course like all things in animals, the most money is always in the highend purebred registered show stock, yes they also milk, and yes you can also eat their kids, but if your talking profit, registered is the only way to go with goats, meat or dairy.

I would kill for your half shale or rocky flat area! You will probably rarely have to trim hooves! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 11, 2002.