Goat milk a passing fad ? (farm, chickens, barn, pigs)

[MissingAll4Seasons]

One of my dairy goat contacts in TX (neighboring farm to my sister's) just sold a contract for 250 lbs/wk (IIRC) supplying the local zoo and their attached veterinary program with goat's milk for the bottle babies. My cousin in NC raises hogs and purchases large amounts of goat's milk for supplementary feed (she doesn't feed high % corn or fish meal). So I think that the market is still there, it's just changed location a bit. I think some of the human market for goat milk went away once the die-hard milk drinkers and artisan cheese makers realized that they could reasonably keep 1-2 dairy goats at home rather than buying it from a farm or supplier.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by MoNative34

I wouldn't even know where you'd buy goat milk.

Any major grocery store (and many minor ones) carry it right in the dairy aisle next to the regular cow milk.

I haven't purchased it because of the higher cost of both goat milk and cheese. I suspect with the high subsidies keeping cow milk prices low that dairy farmers couldn't compete when people started pinching their food pennies.

[BigCur]

Originally Posted by oz in SC

Hmmm,think it might have anything to do with the economy of the ENTIRE NATION going down the crapper????

Maybe people don't have quite as much money for discretionary spending...

Could well be economics, not a passing fad in Greece(to name 1)where its been on the hit-parade for some thousands of years.

Of course I realize the US get a thousand votes and all the other countries just 3.

Semper Fi

[Gungnir]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

I haven't purchased it because of the higher cost of both goat milk and cheese. I suspect with the high subsidies keeping cow milk prices low that dairy farmers couldn't compete when people started pinching their food pennies.

Your tax dollars at work...

Isn't a free capitalist market just the bomb? Oh... Wait... I see what you did there...

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by Gungnir

Your tax dollars at work...

Isn't a free capitalist market just the bomb? Oh... Wait... I see what you did there...

My original quote should have read "that goat dairy farmers couldn't compete...."

I actually do like some forms of goat cheese but it is way too expensive to buy other than a treat every few months. I'll be buying goat milk to see if I like it. If I do, as has been mentioned, I'll buy a dairy goat or two and learn to make my own. Heck, may even be able to get them for free if there is no market for them. Think of all the weed wacking I won't have to do because the goats will graze the forbes (a.k.a. weeds) down.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

I suspect if goat dairies received the same levels of subsidies that cow dairies do (or there were no subsidies at all) the price of goat cheeses and fluid milk wouldn't be quite as high in comparison. There may still be a small increase in price because goats just don't produce as much milk as cows, but then again they don't require as much feed either and have smaller housing/ranging needs... so might be net-zero difference in the end.

While you can technically make any cheese from any species milk with the appropriate cultures, the taste and textures are different between species and purists don't let you get away with using the "wrong" milk The same is true of other cultured milk products... goat yogurt is WAY different than cow yogurt! Both are lovely and scrumptious, but there is a difference.

[marmac]

subsidies---

There are no govt subsidies ---currently--being paid to cow dairy producers cuz the price of milk is near the break even mark.

2009 was a very bad year ( low prices ) and some subsidies were paid. ( about $1.50 per cwt) which calculates to about 14 cents per gallon of milk.

In 2009, even adding the subsidies, dairy farmers recieved about $11 per hwt.
That calculates to about 92 cents per gallon .

Milk in the stores should have been much lower than what it was.

[oz in SC]

Originally Posted by marmac

subsidies---

There are no govt subsidies ---currently--being paid to cow dairy producers cuz the price of milk is near the break even mark.

2009 was a very bad year ( low prices ) and some subsidies were paid. ( about $1.50 per cwt) which calculates to about 14 cents per gallon of milk.

In 2009, even adding the subsidies, dairy farmers recieved about $11 per hwt.
That calculates to about 92 cents per gallon .

Milk in the stores should have been much lower than what it was.

Hmmmm.....so dairy farmers are welfare queens only some of the time?

Why should a dairy farmer receive ANY money from other people???

[MissingAll4Seasons]

There may be no loss subsidies being paid to dairy farmers currently, but that's not the only subsidy that gets paid out of the government tax purse.

For those not in the industry, you can check out dairy subsidies, as well as other farm subsidies, reported by the USDA by year, crop, state, recipient and program on the Environmental Working Group's website. EWG may not be non-partisan anymore (because their research has pointed out gross ineffiencies and inequalities in the system), but they do report the USDA numbers without bias. The subsidy primers are a little less unbiased, but they do help to explain the different programs and how they work.

[marmac]

The govt wants a steady supply of reasonable priced milk available.

Pork and beef farmers don't get subsidies thus when prices are very low , many exit the business creating a shortage and prices go up.

The differece with dairy farming is once they exit, most do not come back as it is not easy to " jump in and jump out" of dairying as it is hogs.

Don't bother me, eliminate all subsidies.

Then watch the consumers pi## and moan when the price of milk and dairy products sky rocket.

Yup, they asked for a congressional hearing when beef prices sky rocketed around 1980 due to many producers getyting out in the mid to late 70's due to low prices.