try to find a market for babies with digestive problems-------I had to raise one of mine on goats milk-was the ONLY thing he could keep down-----I drove about an hour -one way-twice a week for fresh. Good luck tho!!

You'd need a license to run a Grade A or Grade B dairy, and each state is different, so you'd start here:

Dairy Services
Dept. of Ag. & Consumer Serv.
Box 1163
Richmond, VA 23218
(804) 786-8899

Div. of Food & Envm. Serv.
State Health Dept.
1500 E. Main St.
Station Suite 115
Richmond, VA 23218
(804) 225-4003

Generally speaking, you can't get a license until after your plans for facilities and equipment are approved and until after the completed facilities are inspected. Not being able to judge the quality of your product, packaging, etc... a retailer is unlikely to give you a commitment. Therefore, selling milk in bulk for further processing through a coop is an easier way to get started than to try establishing your own brand name with no experience in dairying whatsoever.

The organization that could help with marketing questions and dairy goats in general would be the American Dairy Goat Association.

Here is a link that might be useful: ADGA

Thank you so much. That will give me a start. Im sure they will give me guidelines on how they would like it set up.Im still planning on moving to missouri so this info Is for future plans. Thanks a bunch

Not sure about the area you're moving to, but there are successful goat dairies here in the state. There's a good demand for the product, but the profits aren't high via the coop route I mentioned. AFAIK, you don't need the same kind of license or approved facility to make goat milk soaps and lotions, and you can get by with far fewer goats. That sort of thing would be easily marketable on eBay or possibly through local retailers, and the start-up costs are minimal. If you do a google search on 'goat milk soap' you'll find lots of stories by people who do it as a part-time business.

Are there any creameries that buy goat milk, from farmers? I was wondering if there were, what kind of price do farmers get per hundred weight of goat milk?

There are successful goat daries around here but they sell their milk direct to the customer. Some do sell their cheeses through specialty shops. But in Washington you have to have a grade A dairy for milk and cheese. The cost can be prohibitive unless you really want to go into business. Tom

hi i trying start goat dairy before i jump all in i was try find out more about the prices on the milk in ca and who would i have two talk two set up contract if anyone no plz let no thx

Want to start milking goats. Need all the information I can get. How to set up a farm and how to buy goats. Where to sell the milk. anything else that might help.

In NYS, you sell your milk to a middleman, whom pasturizes it, and sells it to the store. Mixing all the milk from all the dairy farms. You also are required to have all stainless storage (anything the milk touches needs to be stainless). Stainless Holding tanks, buckets, etc. There is also the permits, a quarterly test, and also a monthly milk check from the government (the government subsides milk farming). The largest drawback to dairy, is that it's everyday. Rain or shine, christmas or thanksgiving. No vacations. Time to milk. Meat is a little more hands off.