When my little girl turned one she seemed to be having the worst skin issues. We would give her bleach baths, changed our detergent and a ton of other stuff to help. Finally, the doctors told us that she was having reactions to certain foods that caused her to have eczema. We narrowed down a lot of food but even to this day we haven’t figured all of her allergies out. My wife was determined to help her skin issues by any means necessary. She created her own recipe for goat milk soap and it worked wonders! I never really considered goats to be very useful but I certainly do now. For people with just a little bit of land, they can be great livestock.
In different parts of the county you could support upwards of 8 goats per acre and have no problems at all. Here in Seminole county it’s a little different though. It is more reasonable to assume you could support 4 goats per acre and still may need to supplement hay in the colder months. Goats will eat just about anything like brush, grass and grain. However, it is important to monitor your pasture to determine if there is enough grass to meet their nutrient requirements. Using a rotational grazing method helps to protect the health of the grass and maximizes efficiency of your land.
The real question people care about with any new farming venture is how much money can they make. I can use some anecdotal experience of mine to say that there is room for profit in goats. We were paying $8 per gallon for goat milk ad I am sure people sell it for more. If milking goats is not you dream, meat sells are an option too. Goats sell for roughly $3-$4.25 per pound in the open market and there is potential to make more if you sell directly to individuals. If you are interested in either of these options you can come to see me at the extension office for more details.
If you are trying to maximize the efficiency of your property goats could be the answer. Especially with smaller acreage the potential is there to get some return on your investment. Just like any other farming it all comes down to management, efficiency and marketing. There are some classes available for small ruminant management available through UGA that can help you if you do want to pursue this. Call me at the extension office for more information (229-524-2326). Be safe out there.