Goat Milk Can Be Used to Made this products.
Product
Whole goats’ milk fills a niche market because it is easier to digest than cows milk. This means it can be of value to adults and babies unable to digest cows milk.
The major difference between goats milk and cows milk is that the fat globules are much smaller in goats milk. And a substance causing coagulation of fat globules is naturally present in cows milk but is absent in goats milk.
Goats milk is also substituted for cows milk by some people who have allergies to some proteins in cows milk. Both types of milk contain some proteins which are similar, so it is not always suitable for some people with allergies.
Apart from this the two types of milk are similar in their content of milk sugars, fat and protein. In addition to the whole milk market, goats milk is used for yoghurt and a variety of distinctively different cheeses.
There are currently fourteen goat dairies operating in Victoria. They all supply milk for cheese or yoghurt. There is no bulk pick up of milk, so producers must deliver it themselves to one of about eight cheese factories around the state.
Marketing
There is no established market for goats’ milk. Health food stores are the largest outlet. Virtually all of the milk produced in Victoria at the moment is used for the manufacture of speciality cheeses and yoghurt. It is difficult to maintain milk supply as does kid in the spring so their peak production is in the spring and summer.
Staggering the breeding program helps produce a more even flow of milk, but breeding out of season is difficult. Goat milk producers must find and service their own market. The industry has been fragmented in the past and has had a large turnover of producers.
The Herd Improvement and Producers Association (HIPA) (affiliated with the Victorian Dairy Goat Association) promotes commercial dairying and is responsible for herd recording and testing.
Financial aspects
Goat Milk Soap
A good milking doe will produce milk for ten years, providing about four litres a day at her peak lactation. Some Victorian goat dairies have been established for a long time and continue to trade profitably. Several sheep dairies which also manufacture cheese and yoghurt, also milk goats, to enhance their product range. Setting up a dairy is expensive, and must conform to local planning health regulations.
Many dairy goats in Victoria are kept by breeders who sell stock to enthusiasts and to commercial dairies. Milk sells for between 60c and 80c a litre to cheese factories. Buck kids are sold for meat.
Goat dairies can be good earners, but like any dairy business they must combine good financial management with excellent animal husbandry and farm management skills. Poor business planning is the main cause of failure in a goat dairy enterprise.
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