Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, IA
08-19-07
Dairy goat farmers not kidding around
By MATTHEW WILDE, Courier Staff Writer
OELWEIN --- There's no wet tails slapping John Puff in the face, no splatter after
a cow does her business in the milking parlor, no more getting kicked by a feisty
bovine.
Puff and his wife, Barbara, milk dairy goats now, and they love it.
"From a woman's standpoint, 125 pounds of bad attitude now and then is better
than 800," said Barbara, co-owner of New Foundation Goat Dairy near Oelwein,
as she disconnected a milker from one goat Monday and attached it to another.
Goats are cleaner and friendly. Almost all of the 500 animals on the Puff farm
think they are the family pet. They are a lucrative business as well. Dairy goat
products are a growing niche market in the United States. A growing number of
Iowa farmers are cashing in.
While bovine milk prices are at record levels, the Puffs wouldn't switch back to
cows for anything. They believe goats are as profitable as cows, and the working
environment is better. Plus, running a similar-sized cow dairy is much more labor
intensive.
Anyone who has ever been in a milking parlor knows standing near the south
end of a cow can be unpleasant. And getting kicked or stepped on, whether
intentionally or not, hurts.
After 35 years milking Holsteins, John had enough. Barbara and John got
married after he quit milking cows. The work and roller coaster price swings got
to him like thousands of Iowa farmers who left the industry in the last 20 years.
His 80-head, tie-stall barn burned to the ground in 1996. John continued for
another year, renting two different facilities to milk 300 Holsteins. But it got to be
too much. Rebuilding meant expansion, and that was unacceptable.
Quitting cold turkey, though, was harder than he thought. Crop farming just
wasn't enough; he was addicted to milking. After a little research, dairy goats
seemed like the perfect alternative.
After 2.5 years in the business, he has no regrets.
"It's just another form of producing milk. Actually, a lot of guys milking cows are
curious of the cash flow, and we give them an idea," John said.
Profitability is good and stable, goat milk farmers and processors say. The Puffs
are averaging about $30 per hundredweight for milk, about $10 more than cow
milk, which is fetching record prices. Goat milk prices are usually set yearly by
processors. Cow milk constantly fluctuates.
The Puffs milk 260 head. The rest of the herd is not lactating or is too young to
milk. Even with a new parlor and loafing barn, the couple is making about $5 to
$10 per hundredweight profit, depending on feed prices. Since they are still
building the genetics of their herd, the goats aren't quite averaging 10 pounds of
milk each a day, considered good by industry standards, but they're close.
"We're reasonably satisfied with the results so far," John said.
"I'm very happy," Barbara chimed in.
Cows, especially high-producing Holsteins, give five to 10 times more milk than
dairy goats. However, goats cost much less to buy and feed.
Dale Thoreson, Iowa State University Extension dairy specialist based in
Allison, said the average dairy cow in Iowa produces 65 pounds of milk a day,
though top performers give 150 pounds. But cows will eat 50 pounds or more of
feed to do it and cost thousands of dollars.
A good dairy goat will only eat 6 pounds of feed to produce 10 to 16 pounds of
milk and costs $500 or less, Thoreson said. When looking at pounds of feed
compared to milk production, goats are more efficient.
"That's why dairy goats worldwide are much more popular," Thoreson said.
Replacement costs are minimal since goats tend to have twins, greatly
increasing the odds of females being born. Like a cow, the lactation period for a
goat is 10 months.
Since the United States has more feed and space than most countries and more
people to feed, cows have been the milk producer of choice. While that won't
change any time soon, Thoreson said, dairy goats are becoming more popular.
"I wouldn't get a call for five years (about dairy goats). Then I get three in a week.
That's happened in the last year," Thoreson said.
He estimates there are more than 100 dairy goat farms and more than 6,000
milking goats in Iowa, mostly in the northeast part of the state. Goat milk
processors are limited, which holds production back, Thoreson said.
There is only one processor in Iowa, two in Wisconsin and one in Illinois buying
milk from local farmers. Almost all the milk locally is made into cheese, officials
said. Bottled milk, yogurt and other dairy products are predominantly produced
elsewhere.
The American Dairy Goat Association Web site --- www.adga.org --- claims goat
milk is healthier than cow milk since it is naturally homogenized. Fat globules
aren't mechanically broken down as with most cow milk. People who are lactose
intolerant can often consume goat milk and associated products.
"As Iowa becomes more diverse and health conscious, the market is growing. It's
just a matter of educating the public," Barbara said.
Dairy goat industry officials say it will be a long process, but people are catching
on.
Allen O'Brien, plant manager of the Mount Sterling Creamery, a goat cheese
maker in Mount Sterling, Wis., said sales have increased 5 percent to 10 percent
each of the last five years. The Southwest Wisconsin Dairy Goat Co-op, which
owns the plant between Dubuque and La Crosse, Wis., is considering increasing
the 75,000 pounds of milk it processes every five days.
The bulk of co-op's 23 producers are near Cresco and Dubuque.
"We're looking at picking up a few more producers, but there's a waiting list,"
O'Brien said. "It's a very lucrative business (for producers). You don't need the
investment in facilities, cows, and the prices are steady. Keeping farmers
profitable keeps us profitable.
"(Cheese) demand is very good, and it has outstanding flavor," he continued. "It's
a little more healthy and lower in fat. People just like the change."
Processors only buy enough milk to satisfy demand. The Puffs waited nearly
three years before they found a market with Montchevre-Betin Inc., a goat
cheese maker from Belmont, Wis. They also sell goat meat, and eventually want
to bottle goat milk. They are negotiating with a local processor to do so.
It was worth the wait, the couple said. Goats are milked at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Each session lasts two hours.
Without fuss, 48 goats at a time file into the parlor and up ramps onto two
elevated milking platforms, eliminating bending for the Puffs. It takes about 4
minutes to milk each goat, as the couple switches the 12 milking machines
hanging between the two platforms from one side to the other. Most goats stand
quietly, letting the milkers do their work.
The parlor is amazingly dry, clean and quiet compared to a bovine dairy.
"They only get grain in the parlor. It's quite an incentive to get milked," Barbara
said.
In the loafing or holding barn and outside exercise areas, the goats --- from kids
(babies) to adult bucks and does --- are noisy, playing and clamoring for affection
from the Puffs, much like their dogs.
They particularly love an outdoor cement structure on which they play "king of the
mountain," Barbara said.
"They're a very social animal and entertaining to watch," she said. "They'll grab
and nip at your hand until you scratch them. They want your attention. They are
all pets here."