GOATS: Dairy meets the demand for gourmet Goat's Milk Cheese

Margaret Vinicombe with the Kytren dairy goats

If you have sailed on a Cunard cruise liner or flown Qantas out of Australia, it is likely that you have been served Kytren French-style goat's milk cheese. Margaret and Ken Vinicombe started making gourmet cheese on their Morangup property in 1996 and soon received numerous prestigious awards.

The Vinicombes believe their gourmet produce has helped to change the old attitude toward goats especially amongst the younger generation. “Gourmet cheese is a growing market with more people turning towards goat products,” Margaret said.

For six years prior to starting their own goat business both Ken and Margaret worked for another goat dairy and could see the huge potential in the industry and also see where improvements could be made. Even in the early days, demand outweighed supply.

Ken Vinicome and dairy does

With this in mind, the couple bought a complete dairy herd consisting of 40 milking does and two bucks and Ken built a dairy on their 10.5ha (25 acre) hills property. Apart from the sheds, dairy and cool room, he constructed special feeders for grain and hay. Originally the goats were  Saanen and Saanen-crosses with a few Toggenburgs, British Alpines and Anglo Nubians but because the Toggenburgs tended to overeat with ad lib feeding, the Saanens became the established breed.

A good udder and teats essential in a good milking goat.

With natural mating and breeding programs the herd increased and today, after 19 years in business, the flock consists of 180 milking does, 30 dry does and 40 kids.
In the purpose built dairy, with nine milking bails, the nannies produce from 5-6 litres per day. Ken culls heavily for low milk production unless the doe is in its first lactation. From the onset he used the New Zealand's Tru Test milk meter and still monitors production four or 5 times a year. By this method, he is able to chart total herd performance also individual goat production quantities.

Margaret - the lady who smiles when she says "cheese"

From each 10 litre bucket of milk Margaret makes 14 round cheeses each weighing about 140 grams. Each day about 25-30 kg of cheese is produced. The award-winning, French-style farmhouse cheeses are marketed under the label Kytren - Pure Goat's Milk Cheese.  Made with 100% goat's milk with very little else added apart from salt, oil and herbs in some of the varieties. The dairy makes seven types including soft-curd and white-mould cheeses which are firmer, and a small medallion cheese which is put into oil and coated with pepper and garlic.
Cheeses are made in two sizes and four flavours including plain, herb, pepper and ash-coated. "Ash when used as a preservative gives a cheese a nutty flavour."
Originally most of the Kytren cheeses were freshly wrapped, however, vacuum packing has extended the shelf-life of each cheese to seven weeks.

Gourmet goat's milk cheese

Apart from cheese, today the farm also produces milk and drinking yoghurt. This relatively new dairy product is a creamy healthy drink packed with nutrients. Kytren produces one of the few dinking yoghurts made from goat's milk.

The Vinicombes believe in aggressively promoting their product and, with a background as a marketing manager, Ken knows that this is essential. “We strongly encourage sampling,” said Margaret. “Whatever quantity our distributors ask for we are happy to provide.  Let people taste before they buy,” she said.

Kytren dairy flock (1998)

The goats are fed on pellets and hay and have access to seasonal grass in the paddocks. They also have access to ground salt, mineral lick blocks and dolomite. Ken has not encountered many problems in the flock and attributes that to good feed and hygiene. His husbandry includes 3 in 1 vaccine, Cobalt and Selenium pellets, lice treatment and a twice yearly drench. "Our overheads include feed and minimal vet bills. We don't call the vet unless it is compulsory,” said Ken.

Margaret with two of the dairy's does (1998).

An early Embryo Transfer program yielded a poor result, however, an Artificial Insemination program was more successful. Hormone controlled mating has been used this year to ensure a flush of kids are dropped together and resulting in a flush of milk. The does kid naturally in the paddocks and doe kids are retained to increase stock numbers. The goats normally drop their kids in August and September and are kept in milk for 18 months or two years.
Following every milking, the goats' teats are submerged in an antibacterial solution which kills germs and adds lanolin to prevent chaffing. Despite the twice daily milking, Ken has not  encountered problems with udders or mastitis. He prefers to use a teat dip rather than an antibacterial mist spray which some dairy farmers recommend. “As you only spray from one side you can miss the orifice.” 

A pair of milking goats (not Kytren)

Running the farm and dairy is a seven day a week job. Milking takes about one hour morning and afternoon with half an hour for preparation and cleaning up afterwards. Freshly packed cheeses are delivered to local producers twice a week and interstate orders are delivered to Perth airport every Sunday and Wednesday.

"Attitudes are changing," said Margaret. Today, with the growing popularity of cooking programs on TV and a more healthy-eating mentality, interest in gourmet products including goat cheese is expanding. "Because the fat content is a lot less than in regular cow cheese, people who want to eat cheese and increase their calcium intake prefer the goat product. People who are lactose intolerant can eat goat's cheese without adverse effects,” she said.

Saanen goat (not Kytren)

The Vinicombes attribute their success to aggressive marketing, attention to herd health and hygiene, and a commitment to succeeding in the goat industry. 
Margaret admits that dairying is a demanding business with twice a day milking, seven days a week plus the time devoted to cheese making and to the animals, but after 23 years in the business she is proud of the Kytren Goat Dairy and the cheeses she produces.

Note:

The Kytren Goat Dairy is located 55 km east of Perth in Western Australia.

I first visited the farm and interviewed Margaret Vinicombe in 1998. My original article was published in The Goat Farmer magazine at that time. My thanks to Margaret for an update.

Goats: Promotion and marketing - the keys to success for breeders

To be successful in today's world means being competitive. Small and large businesses fail if they cannot market their products. Rural enterprises are no different and farmers must learn to approach their business in a professional manner.  Few can afford the luxury of failure.

The key to success in marketing is promotion and publicity and the steps to achieving positive results are not difficult or necessarily expensive.

Firstly you must believe in your product, and secondly you must promote it and yourself, in as many ways as possible. A lot can be achieved at no cost whatsoever.

Here are a few suggestions for promoting your livestock enterprise.

1.  Know your product.

Improve your knowledge about the industry through reading and networking. Know your product inside out so you can answer the 1001 question people might ask.

There are lots of books available that are easily accessed from Amazon or your local bookshop. Read all you can, not only in journals and rural magazines but read other breeders' advertisements so you know what the competition is.

Visit on-line groups that post regularly on Facebook. Know the current sales prices for stud stock and fibre (mohiar growers), frozen meat prices and the market trends and latest developments at home and overseas.

2.  Present a professional image.

You are your farm’s best promotional tool. Word of mouth is the cheapest form of promotion.

Get to know the people involved in your industry. Find out where they are located and what they are achieving. Take time to talk on the phone, on email or pay a visit. This is networking. Have your own website or blog on the internet. Avoid being negative. Be honest and positive.
Make sure you animals also look happy and healthy.

Suggest new buyers visit other enterprises to compare stock. Customers appreciate an open minded approach.

Be professional. Join a breed society, club or organization and become an active member. If you are a good public speaker, put together an interesting talk about your farm and livestock. Support this with pics or a video.

Some producers hold seminars or run courses on farm. This allows them to promote the industry but, at the same time display and market their own stock. Others offer their professional expertise as tutors at colleges and evening classes.

If you prefer writing to speaking, send an article to your local paper. They are always looking for fresh and interesting pieces about local people and events.

b)  Print material

Letter-headed paper is easy to print at home. Business cards can be produced very cheaply these days. They are a prerequisite for any small business.

Design an eye-catching logo, or use your association’s logo (with permission). It will become synonymous with your farm business. Use this on all signs, adverts and stationery.

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Have an annual budget for promotional expenses. Stay within your budget. If you can afford novelty promotional items such as calendars, postcards or fridge magnets, always make them attractive so people will keep them. Have your logo and stud name embroidered on your T-shirts and caps.

Have glossy advertising leaflets printed to hand out at events or, if that is too expensive, print out information on an A4 sheet on your home computer. Provide details of your stock with prices if possible (some people are embarrassed to ask). Also make up a sheet of basic husbandry information to hand to new breeders. Provide a book list of recommended reading material.

Besides your primary produce, always promote any bi-products from your animals such as fur, feathers, oils, hair, milk or meat, even goat knickknacks that you might sell on the farm. Advertise these items at shows.

  
Breed societies

Most livestock types are represented by breed societies. By becoming a member you will have access to up-to-date information and meet more people. By being an active member of the society you will gain respect from fellow breeders, but do not expect the society to market your animals for you.

Some people enter new and alternate livestock enterprises believing that once they have the animals it will all happen.

When they find that they cannot sell their stock they ask, "What is the society doing for me?"

These are the types of people who do not last long in any business. They sell up and leave giving that industry a bad name. Only through positive participation and enthusiasm will any single venture or group grow.

Promotion at shows

Agricultural shows and local events are an inexpensive way of promoting yourself and your animals to the public. If your breed society is participating at a show then get involved and take your livestock along. Enter competitions.  Winning an award or prize is effective promotion.

When you show you animals ensure that, not only are they well groomed, but that you present yourself in a smart and professional manner.  You are on show too.Likewise, the animal pens and holding areas should be neat and tidy.Display a professionally made sign bearing your logo.

At agricultural shows prospective breeders want information. 

Provide an eye-catching display board of photographs (preferably enlargements) and a table for your business cards and literature. Be on hand to talk to people and always observe professional courtesy.

Don’t forget to record the names and addresses of anyone interested in entering the business and, more importantly, follow these up with a phone call or email when you have more stock available for sale.

If you have not reached the stage of entering animals in the larger shows, try the local events. These often welcome displays of animals free of charge but you may have to provide your own small stock pen. These are not difficult to construct from a few sheets of mesh.

The biggest attraction at these events is often young animals – they promote themselves but, remember, promotion starts with you.

Advertising signs

Signs on vehicles provide excellent publicity. If you are transporting stock why not promote your stud name on your vehicle or trailer.  If your do not want a permanent sign on the car door then consider a custom made spare-tyre cover or portable sign for the trailer.

Have a sign made for your vehicle. I called mine The Goatmobile.

Roadside and farm signs bring visitors onto the farm.

The costs are not high and this type of promotion is worthwhile.

Newspaper advertisements

When you have stock for sale, advertise it in the press. Small lineage ads placed regularly in appropriate papers will have better results than a single full-page spread with no follow up. Some papers offer free adverts. Adverise on the internet. Regular advertising pays dividends.

Makes ever post a winner

If you are planning an interstate or overseas holiday consider finding out before you leave if there are any breeders living near your holiday destination. Try contacting the secretary of the breed society for the state or country that you will be visiting.

On a farm visit in the UK I met this Manx Loaghtan sheep

People involved in the same venture as you are usually delighted to meet you. Always write or ring first. You can pick up new ideas from seeing how other people conduct their farms.

Networking keeps you up to date with what is going on.

If a breeder is planning an Artificial Insemination program or it’s shearing or vaccination day, why not volunteer to help. You will learn a lot.

Promotion through sponsorship

It’s not always easy to get sponsorship but it costs nothing to try. Local rural traders and feed merchants may be happy to sponsor you in a modest way.

While these are a few promotional ideas, I am sure there are many more.

Success in any rural business does not happen overnight and stock will not sell themselves. From the start you must be professional in the way you market your product. Define your objectives and work out a promotional plan. Make use of any market research data which is available.

Always stay positive and remember that promotion is an investment in your future.

Note: For the sake of convenience the writer has directed this article towards goat farming, however, the same information can equally apply to sheep or alpaca studs, aqua-culturists, vermiculturalists or plant nurserymen.

While is it some years since I wrote this article and I no longer farm goats, some facts have been revised but little has changed.

This farm on wheels brings (goat) kids to city kids

Have you probably heard the English ditty - Old MacDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O? But have you heard of Old Macdonald's Travelling Farms.

While the colourful mobile trailers transport a host of small farm animals across Australia, the main attraction is always the goat kids. With their delightful antics, individual personalities and friendly nature they prove most popular with audiences of any age. “Goats are ideal because they are so adaptable," the Farm operator said.

In Australia the Travelling Farms operate on a franchise basis in each state. To go on the road, each operator is equipped with a brightly painted horse float packed with tents, barriers and 40 assorted young animals. Travelling together with a variety of goat kids, which are the most popular, are lambs, piglets, rabbits, ducks, chickens and even a calf.

"You can imagine the looks we get when people see the colourful float at road rest stops. From the number of people who stop to take photos it is obvious even the vehicle is a tourist attraction!"

For the animals of the travelling farm, the extended horse float is their farm-shed on wheels.  And it is often their home for several weeks.  

On one country trip, the West Australian troupe travelled 5,500 kilometers.

 

At each location the operators set up a large enclosure with portable barriers and a decorated green tent.  Once the animals have settled in, the public are allowed in to hand-feed, touch and mingle with the babies. The main venues are schools and kindergartens, country fairs and agricultural shows, shopping centres and nursing homes.  It often surprises the operators how many country bookings they get for their farm animals.

But the role is not simply entertainment. Old Macdonald’s Farms are approved by the Department of Education as an educational unit for primary children.  At schools they promote the attributes of the goats for meat, fibre and milk production.  At fairs and shows they explain about goat milk and use of fibre for spinning and weaving.

The question most frequently asked is "What's that?" and it usually refers to an angora kid. "Angoras confuse everyone. Surprisingly many adults and teachers think fibre goats are sheep or lambs."  It seems that most people identify goats by their smooth hair and horns.

Travelling with the animals, the operators recognize the different characteristics of the various breeds at an early age.

"The dairy goats are the attention seekers. They like to be around you and be next to you. I think the Saanans and Alpines are the most loving and the friendliest.

They are the ones the children often prefer.  The Anglo Nubians kids are more striking with their multi-coloured markings, but they are rather like spoilt children and often have a mind of their own."

The nursery also includes feral kids. These also are pretty often in mixed colours and are far more independent than the dairy breeds.

"They think barriers are made for jumping over," the operator said. "They are our Houdinis. And the angora kids are the timid ones." Both white and black angoras travel with the troupe.

And what about the Boer goat kids?

"We have a team of nine Boers and Boer crosses at the moment," I was told. "They are like nine rugby union players in a pack. They always have to be first out of the float and first fed. You can hear their feet clopping along behind you like baby elephants."

I asked if there was a difference between the behavior of the kids and lambs and was told that the goat kids want attention, whereas the lambs don’t seem to need human contact.

"Kids that join the troupe at a few days old need no training and go straight on the road but lambs take a little longer to settle in."

Feeding times are popular with any audience. The kids are fed three bottles of cold formula daily.  Children love to help. At a fair in a capital city recently 1000 children visited the mobile farmyard. At the shows, Old Macdonald's Travelling Farms charges a small entry fee. For an extra fifty cents children can buy a cup of feed for the animals.

"We try to watch how much each kid or lamb is getting but that is sometimes a bit difficult," said the operator. "Because of this we only feed chaff, no muesli.  The animals get this when they get home."

At the end of the day the tent and barriers are dismantled and the animals returned to their mobile farm shed to sleep. "The different breeds interact extremely well. They are one big happy cross-species family."

The operators source their animals from local breeders and are happy to receive orphaned kids and unwanted males. The kids stay with them from three to six months depending on their nature and rate of growth and when they graduate there is no problems finding good homes for them.

For the Travelling Farms operators life is hectic, but also rewarding in more ways than one. "The smiles make it all worthwhile.

"And it’s not children who derive pleasure from the farm. Adults who are passing often stop to look over our barriers.  Their faces light up when they see the children surrounded by animals.  The animals are so calm they seem to have a calming effect on others."

Plus, the constant stream of questions confirms that Old Macdonald's is not just an entertainment unit. "We make every attempt to educate the public and feel strongly that this is one of our roles as a travelling animal farm." 

 Note: While I wrote this article several years ago and it was pubished in New Zealand's GOAT FARMER magazine, the Old Macdonald’s Travelling Farms are still popular in Australia.

Information on visits and franchises is available from: http://www.oldmacfarms.com.au/

Pics of animals from author's own stock. Tent pics courtesy of Old Macdonalds.