A Public-Private Partnership to Reinvigorate Wisconsin's Dairy Industry
Wisconsin is the largest producer of fluid goat milk in the country and is home to 180 milking herds, which includes 25,855 milking does. In 2008, Wisconsin’s dairy goats produced 35.1 million pounds of milk.
To strengthen the goat dairy industry in the state and to expand goat milk supply for a growing number of fluid milk, cheese and value-added processors, the Dairy Business Innovation Center, in collaboration with several industry organizations, has implemented an extensive economic development plan, which has included a variety of educational materials and resources.
2007 Wisconsin Dairy Goat Initiative Annual Report
2009 Wisconsin Dairy Goat Report
Programming, Curriculum Development, Outreach and Education
The overriding goal of the Wisconsin Dairy Goat Initiative is to establish a statewide plan for information, education, and support of the industry, to include programming by the University of Wisconsin-Extension; research by the University of Wisconsin; curriculum development by the Wisconsin Technical College System; outreach and education for producers, processors, lenders, veterinarians, and others who work within the industry.
Discovery Sessions
During the summer of 2007, the Wisconsin Dairy Goat Initiative coordinated a series of discovery sessions around the state. Participants included producers, processors, extension agents, lenders, and representatives from the fields of rural development, marketing, specialty food retail, and agri-tourism.
The objective of these regional meetings was to identify existing resources that are available to support the emerging and growing dairy goat industry as well as to determine priorities for creating additional infrastructure.
A summary of these meetings and proposed next steps is available here: REPORT ON GOAT INDUSTRY DISCOVERY SESSIONS
Initial Research and Tasks
A meeting of dairy goat producers, processors, educators, lenders, and others held in February, 2006 produced a report on identified needs of the industry if the industry is to grow and flourish in Wisconsin.
Notes from the February 2006 Dairy Goat Initiative Meeting
This meeting marked the creation of the Wisconsin Dairy Goat Initiative's Advisory Committee. See a list of Current Members here.Advisory Commitee members have actively participated in a wide range of events. For more information, please see: 2007 Participation of Dairy Goat Advisory Committee
The first Dairy Goat Initiative project was to study herd and financial information from 14 selected dairy goat farms. Though the 2004 Dairy Goat Cost of Production Study used a very small sample size and therefore cannot be considered to be conclusive data about the goat industry in WI, many of the findings of this study have since been confirmed by a larger study conducted by Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service.
Wisconsin Dairy Goat Industry Overview
In 2006, the Initiative funded a survey conducted by, surveying 165 dairy goat farms in the state. The results of that survey, Wisconsin Dairy Goat Industry Overview, can be found at www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Wisconsin/Publications/Dairy/dairygoats.pdf. These surveys helped establish Wisconsin information on herd numbers, production, prices paid for milk, how milk is utilized, costs of production, and future plans of producers.
Field Days and Events
Other activities of the WI dairy Goat Initiative include field days, regional network support, training and assistance for professionals supporting the goat industry, and information sharing. For more information about upcoming events, please visit our calendar.
Dairy Goat Listserve
The WI Dairy Goat Initiative supports a listserve open to anyone interested in learning more about goats. The listserve is intended primarily for commercial producers and others in the goat industry including lenders, cheese makers, extension agents, academic faculty, veterinarians and other professionals supporting the industry.
All members of the listserve are free to ask questions related to goat management and production and to provide answers to questions posed by other listserve members.
Jeanne M. Meier
DBIC Dairy Goat Project
jeannemr49@gmail.com
608-219-4081