Everything you need to know about selecting healthy dairy and meat goats for profitable farm enterprises.
| Breed | Daily Milk Yield | Fat/Protein % | Price Range | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saanen | 4–5 litres | 3.5% / 2.8% | €400–€900 | High volume production |
| Alpine | 3.5–4.5 litres | 3.6% / 2.9% | €450–€1000 | Premium cheese; robust |
| Anglo-Nubian | 2–3 litres | 4.5% / 3.5% | €500–€1200 | Boutique cheese; butterfat |
| Toggenburg | 3–4 litres | 3.4% / 2.8% | €380–€850 | Diversified small herd |
| La Mancha | 2.5–3.5 litres | 3.5% / 2.9% | €450–€950 | Cheese + beef dual-purpose |
Milk Production: 3–5 litres/day, 305 days/year = €1500–€2500/doe/year gross income.
Kid Production: 2–3 kids/doe/year at €80–€120/kid = €160–€360/doe/year.
Milk + Surplus Kids: Milk dairy breeds early, cull surplus kids for meat at 12–16 weeks. Best margin.
Dairy: €200–€300/doe/year (grazing + concentrates). Meat: €120–€180/doe/year (pasture-heavy).
Dairy: Twice-daily milking = 2–4 hours/day. Meat: Weekly checks = 1–2 hours/week.
Dairy: Parlour, milk tank, chill unit (€5k–€15k). Meat: Fencing, shelter (€2k–€5k).
You've got a second field. It's too small for a proper cattle operation. The margins on sheep don't move the needle anymore. You're looking at the empty space and wondering: What if?
Goats. You've heard they're profitable. You've read about farmers making money on milk and cheese. You've seen photos of beautiful dairy herds. But the numbers are different from what you know. This isn't cattle. This is a different enterprise with different costs and different problems.
Let's be honest about the reality:
The upside: A single dairy doe milking 4 litres a day will generate €1500–€2500 annually in raw milk or processed cheese. On a small footprint. With less feed cost than a milking cow. If you're selling direct—to a creamery, a market, or a customer base—that's real money on compact land.
The downside: Those milking does need milking every single day. Twice a day if you're serious. Disease is a constant threat: CAE, mastitis, foot rot, parasites. Your first year will be about learning which problems cost money and which cost your herd. And the market for goat milk and cheese can be thin outside urban areas and tourist markets.
The reality: Most successful goat farmers started small. 5–10 does. Built infrastructure gradually. Found a buyer before they brought animals home. And they diversified—milk one year, cheese-making the next, meat kids as a sideline.
Goats eat what sheep and cattle won't: scrubland, brambles, invasive weeds. They convert marginal land to income. They don't require massive infrastructure like dairy cows. And the profit margins, when managed well, are excellent.
But start with health status first. Buy from CAE-negative herds. Test everything. Build relationships with your vet. And plan your exit strategy before you have: If the market dries up, can you transition to meat? Can you process milk yourself? Do you have a Plan B?
Then there's the complementary enterprise angle: While your goats graze a paddock, grow hemp on adjacent land. Goats require seasonal labour (concentrated). Hemp requires different seasonal labour. Two enterprises, two cash flows, two paths to managing risk.
