What happens if the back part of your farm is covered in blackberries and poison ivy? And yes, you are allergic to poison ivy. One solution might be to buy some pygmy goats. That’s exactly what Hank and Michele Yoos, of Nashville, Mo., did over six years ago.
“We had babies and I started milking the pygmies. I was just messing around. I didn’t have big plans to milk,” shared Michele.
Michele had been making lye soap for many years and she quickly realized there was potential for making goat milk soap with the excess milk from the pigmies. Eventually, Hank and Michele began searching for a breed that would produce more milk.
They found Nigerian Dwarf to be the best-suited breed. “They are easy to handle. Since Hank is gone a lot, I have to do whatever has to be done,” explained Michele. Besides the compact size, Michele appreciates that they take less feed and require less space than full sized goats.
With a breed chosen, Garden ‘N Goat Dairy Farm was created. Today, Michele has 30 mommas, 16 of which she milks by hand twice a day. “A well bred Nigerian Dwarf will put out half a gallon of milk per day, a quart in the morning and a quart in the evening. That is what we strive for. However, the fresheners don’t always start out that way,” continued Michele.
Some of the milk is used to bottle feed the babies and the rest is either sold or used for soap making. If used for soap making, Michele will strain, measure, weigh and freeze the milk in quart bags.
Michele uses a cold process to make her soap, meaning she heats the fats and oils just hot enough to melt. There is no real cooking time. She uses a variety of molds and fragrances.
“Soap making is whatever you want it to be. I steer toward soaps that are better for your skin. Goat milk is best for dry skin because it is creamy,” Michele reasoned. Goat milk soap has alpha hydroxy acids like lactic acid, which removes dead skin cells, along with many vitamins and minerals.
Managing the herd to produce the most milk possible is high priority for soap making at Garden ‘N Goat Dairy Farm.
Nutrition is the first place to start with milk production. When the goats come into milk they are fed Alfalfa hay or pellets with beet pulps to increase milk quantity. They are also fed black oil sunflower seeds to raise butterfat during show season and winter. The black oil sunflower seeds contain vitamin E and selenium and is high in fat, which helps keep on weight.
For Michele one-on-one time spent with the herd can be very valuable when looking for nutritional deficiencies. “I have a lot of red goats. Red and brown goats tend to need a lot more copper than light colored goats. I can tell by looking at my herd which animal needs more copper,” explained Michele. “Dairy goats need a lot of copper. Studies suggest that when copper is controlled they’ll have fewer worms. I tend to agree with those studies.” Copper bolus is given every three months.
Because Michele travels a lot with her goats for show she deworms every three months. Michele conducts her own fecal testing, “It takes some learning and knowing which parasites you’re looking at so you know what wormer to give them but it can be done.”
Careful selection when breeding is considered. “I breed according to pedigree and who will give me what I am looking for in the show ring and in the pail,” explained Michele. By two months old the bucks are separated from the herd.
To get the look Michele wants in the show ring breeding polled to polled is not the best solution for her farm. Instead Michele chooses to disbud her animals as young as possible to get the look she wants.
Kidding will start the beginning of February and last 6 weeks. Michele chooses to kid in February so that the kids are weaned by show season in May. Michele has set up dry, warm stalls for kidding equipped with an intercom system so she can be there to assist at any time.
The management Michele is doing on her farm has proven to be successful in the show ring and in the pail. She first began showing in 2008 and has since won several classes at multiple shows around the Ozarks.
“Farming is hard work but fun. It never stops. I would much rather do this than anything else,” concluded Michele.
