Guide to Starting a Commercial Goat Dairy

By Carol Delaney

Guide to Starting a Commercial Goat Dairy PDF is meant to provide basic information to those interested in looking at starting a dairy goat farm as a business. Other books cover the detailed management of dairy goats while this guide seeks to touch on those topics that strongly influence management choices. One exception might be milking systems and equipment but we leave readers in the good hands of the Dairy Practices Council for specific guides published on these topics and referenced in the chapters. We hope this guide will help the reader make a realistic plan for the investment of finances in land, buildings and livestock — and decide for or against that investment. We have faith that those who are serious will take the time to write a mission statement, set goals, and create record keeping systems to measure their progress. Then, they will be empowered to use all this data to inform their future decisions. With whole farm, family and land goals to refer to, managers can adjust their operation to correct problems and make informed changes to fulfill their goal.