Cows might be the first animal that comes to mind when you say “dairy”, but across the Northeast, the demand for goat dairy is growing.
Despite the increase in consumer demand, technical and financial support for small ruminant dairy lags behind the services that cow dairies have access to. To address this gap, NE-DBIC granted the University of Vermont $249,395 to conduct an assessment for goat dairy technical needs and the development of services and resources for current and prospective goat dairy farmers. Beginning in September 2024, this 18-month project included technical assistance to support goat dairy businesses across the region and focused on best practices for small ruminant dairy businesses.
A multi-faceted project, the grant included five main objectives:
- Facilitate goat milk quality testing in Vermont and other Northeastern States;
- Engage with partners and specialists to enhance small ruminant services and education in Northeastern states;
- Facilitate network development, coordination and scoping of future needs;
- Conduct goat dairy cost of production research and outreach; and
- Conduct a goat dairy management survey to determine best practices and herd management benchmarks.
Throughout the project, UVM worked with regional partners to test milk quality, offer educational events, and develop resources for farmers. Their overall goal was to improve goat dairy farm production, increase market opportunities, and grow opportunities for goat dairy across the Northeast.
The research team will present their findings at the Northeast Dairy Innovation Summit on March 11 in Albany, NY.
See the full agenda and register for the Summit to dig deeper into opportunities for small ruminants and more.
Leading up to the Summit, the UVM team has been offering educational webinars and workshops to the small ruminant dairy community.
Upcoming Small Ruminant Dairy Workshops:
- Saturday, February 14 – Milk Quality for Small Ruminants workshop, both in person and online.
- Wednesday, February 18 – Iowa State Dairy Goat Webinar Series: Improving Goat Dairy Milk Quality: Lessons from Parlor Audits in Vermont
- Wednesday, March 11 – Goat Farm Production & TA Development at the NE Dairy Innovation Summit
