All in Favor, Say Goat

Goat farming. It seems to be contagious. According to The Hartford Courant yesterday, Suffield's Future Farmers of America set out to make a 40-foot bar of goat soap. It took 41 pounds of olive oil, 24 pounds of coconut oil, 14 poinds of palm oil, 12 pounds of lye, and 30 pounds of goat's milk with ice. To read more, click here.

In the Phllipines, goat farming is getting a boost from the country's Department of Agriculture. According to an article dated January 11, 2010 in the Phillipine Star, the animal provides enough protein from its milk and meat to choke a horse. Click here to read more.

Closer to home, we have one of many resident cheese mongers in New England. Laini Fondiller of the Lazy Lady Farm in Vermont makes goat cheese with such names as Tomme Delay, Barick Obama, and Fil-a-Buster. According to an article dated December 30, 2009 from The New York Times, Fondiller makes her cheese in the "French way" at her off-the-grid facility. When it comes to goat farming, she says goats are better than other animals. “They’re very nice little animals,” she was quoted as saying. “Cows don’t give a damn. Sheep can’t stand ya. Pigs? ‘Just feed me!’ And goats really do want to be around you.” Click here for the rest of the article.

If goat farming is something you've considered, take the amount of acreage you have and the kind of fencing you have installed. If nothing else, you can resort to The Invisible Fence. Some farmers report success using the collar system with their goat herd. Read this Q&A from KnoxNews.com in Knoxville, TN.

If goats farms are a nice place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there, consider agritourism. There is a growing number of farms in the Northeast that offer stay packages to learn how to farm. In this New York Times article dated August 25, 2009, Stony Creek Farm in Walton, NY, will help you learn how to bail hay, harvest a Brussels sprout or milk a goat. Click here to read more.

Who knew goats could be this popular?

Image courtesy of The New York Times.

Comments

[homes for sale newport coast]

Closer to home, we have one of many resident cheese mongers in New England. Laini Fondiller of the Lazy Lady Farm in Vermont makes goat cheese with such names as Tomme Delay, Barick Obama, and Fil-a-Buster.

[ruffledfeathers]

Do NOT use invisible fencing for goats! Remember that the goal of fencing is not just to keep goats in, but to keep predators out. And one of the primary predators of goats are loose dogs from surrounding homes. Dogs will run a goat to death even if they don't actually attack and kill it by force. Imagine your goat unable to leave it's fenced area, but anything else being able to come in and harrass it. Very bad idea.
www.ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com

[Laura LaFlamme]

If you would like to see or buy a piece of this 40 foot bar.. I know where you can! Right now it is being stored 8 feet high in my school headhouse(room attached to the greenhouse) My students will be selling the soap as a fund raiser at the Suffield Agriscience Expo April 13th and 14th. We will have baby goats and lots of other great exhibits put on by our students.
It promises to be good CLEAN fun!!

[greenfoodgal]

Cute article! If you go to the Fairfield Indoor Winter Farmers' Market on Saturdays from 10-2 you can meet the baby goats from Goat Boy Soaps. They are adorable in their little pen and the kids can pet them. The soaps are wonderful.

[Michelle Nowak]

Neat article! Goats are awesome; they have such strong personalities. I have heard that fencing is the biggest issue with goats, but didn't know that the invisible fence had been used successfully - very interesting.