Working with goats to produce dairy products, soap, meat, leather, and fertilizer

Value-Added ProductsWith Goats

How can you make money with goats?

Milk Cheese & dairy products Soap Fertilizer

Manure (compost)Meat

Milk-fed pork, beef, poultry Chevon, cabrito

LeatherLandscaping (brush eating)

Selling milk

Raw milk Currently legal in Illinois to sell on farm in container

provided by consumer Illegal in Iowa; herd shares legal in Indiana See

http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/raw_milk_map.htm for additional states

Grade A dairy license Need different license for fluid milk, ice cream,

yogurt, and cheese Must have a separate certified kitchen for farmstead

cheese

Equipment for commercial cheese making

Commercial pasteurizerMolds for draining cheeseCooler for aging (or cave)+ commercial kitchen equipment

Ingredients for cheese

MilkSomething to ripen cheese

Acid (vinegar or citric acid)Culture (mesophilic or thermophilic)

RennetMold (white, blue, red)

For additional info on commercial cheese:

The Farmstead Creamery Advisor: The Complete Guide to Building and Running a Small, Farm-Based Cheese Business andMastering Artisan Cheesemaking: The Ultimate Guide for Home-Scale and Market Producers

By Gianaclis CaldwellChelsea Green Publishing

Soapmaking

Currently no legal requirements for soap manufacturers

Low start-up costs

Making soap -- equipment

Digital scaleStainless steel or enamel pot8-cup glass mixing bowl with handle or non-aluminum

pitcher2-cup glass measuring cupGlass or cup (1 cup)Thermometer (needs to read between 90 and 140 F)Plastic spatulas or wooden spoonsStick blenderMold(s)Freezer paper or wax paperVinegar

Soapmaking -- ingredients

OilFrozen milkLye

Optional:

Essential oilsFragrance oilsHerbs and botanicalsClayPumice or egg shells

Milk as Fertilizer

Linn, Missouri 1,100 more pounds of grass per acre 18% softer

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2010/jun/27/farmers-turn-to-milk-for-fields/

Composting manure in Illinois

Legally can only compost your own farm waste unless you have a permit

Cannot sell compost unless you have a permitNew rules are currently being drafted that

would make it easier and cheaper for small-scale compost production and sale.

Turning milk into meat

ChickenTurkeyBeef

Chickens and turkeys will drink a small amount of milk or whey. Calves can be raised on goat milk.

Homegrown meat -- pork

American Guinea Hogs

Pigs love whey and milk! Our pigs consume all of the whey from our cheesemaking.

Homegrown meat -- chevon

Extra buck kids can be sold for meat.

Legally selling meat in Illinois

Sell the live animal and deliver it to the locker as a service to the buyer. Buyer pays you for animal, pays locker for processing meat.

Pros:

•No permit required•Less marketing work as you only sell live animals, so you have to find fewer buyers

Cons:

•May make less $ per pound•Some people don’t want to buy a whole animal

Legally selling meat in Illinois

Butcher meat animals and sell individual cuts

• Cons

• Retail meat license required• More marketing work

because each customer buys less product

• Need a place to “set up shop”

• Must have dedicated cooler and/or freezer for meat

• Pros

• Can create your own signature items, such as sausage

• Potential to make more money

Leather

Ever heard of “kid gloves?”Salt hide after butchering and send to a

tanneryLearn to tan leather yourself

Sell as skin?Value-added products?

Resources

www.ThriftyHomesteader.comAntiquityOaks.blogspot.com

Supplies Cheesemaking.com Dairyconnection.com