When it comes to expanding your product offerings as a farmer, you have many different options. You can plant new crops, transform a part of your property into a vacation rental location, or start raising livestock. Raising goats is one of the most flexible, lucrative, and fun ways to enter the livestock market. Before you start looking into loans for ranchers and hobby farms to help you finance your new division, you need to have a clear plan in place. Here’s what you need to do to get started raising goats.
Figure Out What Type of Goats You Want
When you’re raising goats, there are two main types you need to consider: dairy and meat goats. Dairy goats are raised for their milk. This milk can be sold to cheese makers, restaurants, grocery stores, and even used to make lotions. Meat goats are raised primarily for their meat. Keep in mind that demand for dairy goats is always higher and provides you with an easier starting point than raising meat goats.
Get Your Space Ready
Luckily, goats are relatively low-maintenance creatures. They require far less space and feed than cows and other grazing livestock. However, they do eat almost constantly. This means you’ll want to have enough land to support your goats comfortably. As a general rule, you’ll want about 50 square feet of land for each adult goat you’re raising. The more land, the less supplemental feed you’ll need to provide. If you need to buy more property, you can always finance the purchase by taking out loans for ranchers.
Start Out Small
When it comes to raising livestock of any kind, it’s easy to stretch yourself to the limit when you’re first getting started. Instead, start small. Invest in just a few goats at first and make sure you’re comfortable raising them before expanding your herd and your operation. Remember, you can always buy more goats once you’re sure that raising them is the right choice for your business.
Need Help Financing Your Expansion?
Expanding your ranching business into livestock takes time and money. Unless you plan on paying for your new goats, barn, land, and equipment to process either meat or dairy, you’ll need to apply for loans for ranchers. The sooner you start filing out your application, the sooner you’ll be able to start raising goats and expanding your business. Contact our experts today and let us help you through the application process.