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Research studies show the nutritional value of meat from lamb and goats is higher when animals consume grass and forage vs. grain:
Less saturated fat, more heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats
Lower ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 polyunsaturated fats
Higher levels of vitamin E and vitamin A
By the numbers: Lamb and goats raised on 100% pasture have:
Bibliography for research supporting the Nutritional Benefits of Pasture-Raised Food (PDF) Thank you to FACT: Food Animal Concerns Trust for bringing this data together. Download the fact sheet on grass-fed lamb and goat here.
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Goat meat's top nutrients in one 100 gram (3 oz.) serving: ✔️Protein: 27.1 g 54% DV ✔️Vitamin B12 1.19 mcg 50% DV ✔️Zinc: 5.27 mg 48% DV ✔️Riboflavin 0.61 mg 47% DV ✔️Copper 0.303 mg 34% DV ✔️Niacin 3.95 mg 25% DV ✔️Iron 3.7 mg 21% DV ✔️Selenium 11.8 mcg 21% DV ✔️Choline: 106 mg 19% DV ✔️Phosphorus: 201 mg 16% DV 👆Based on an adult, 2,000 calorie diet. The FDA considers 20% Daily Value of a nutrient high, while 5% or less is low.  Goatober is just what you might guess – it’s a celebration of the goat, in particular goat meat, in the month of October. The goal of the month-long international celebration is to encourage restaurants to put goat on the menu, or have people cook goat at home. In 2011 Goatober started in New York and has now grown around the globe to include events in London, Melbourne, Amsterdam, and Trinidad and Tobago. Goatober began as an effort to extend the lives of male dairy goats and to put a delicious, ethical meat on the menu. The celebration brings together goat farmers, non-profits, chefs and others who are passionate about ending food waste in dairy goat farming. Goatober aka No Goat Left Behind was the brainchild of former Heritage Radio Network Executive Director Erin Fairbanks and renowned New York cheesemonger Anne Saxelby. They launched the initiative together with Heritage Foods to address the growing problem facing New England goat dairy farms: what to do with male goats? Male offspring create a dilemma for dairy farmers — they obviously don’t produce cheese, and unfortunately, there is no well-established humanely sourced market for American goat meat. From this senseless waste Goatober was created and with it a month-long celebration of putting goat meat on the menu of New York’s best restaurants. There are now over 100 restaurants involved in Goatober from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Celebrate with us Online I'll be highlighting a number of goat farmers, ranchers and graziers on my blog, as well as on social media. I’ll also be launching my new ebook the Meat Goat Primer, which you can get on the waitlist here. Locally, Goatober will be celebrated throughout October at the Farm Table in Amery, featuring goat meat from our farm, as well as a special cooking class mid-October.  
Our goat herd always has access to a loose mineral mix and sodium bicarbonate. We also give copper boluses and cobalt boluses. Now that we added sheep, we need to be make sure we don't give the sheep too much copper, but still make sure the goats get enough copper for their needs. Before we had sheep on the farm we used Purina’s Wind and Rain Cattle Mineral, which is comparable to its goat mineral mix, but with more copper and an anti-caking agent. The anti-caking agent is important for us since our livestock are out on pasture most of the year. Even though the mineral is in a covered feeder, it can still get moisture from the elements. This helps prevent any mineral waste. We also supplemented annually with a copper bolus (UltraCruz brand). Since we added sheep, we’ve adjusted how we give minerals. Our buck and market goat herd still follows the same protocol as we have in the past. This will likely change as we add wethered ram lambs to that group. Our doe/ewe flerd now has Purina’s sheep mineral, as well as sodium bicarbonate. Our goats now receive a copper bolus two times a year to make sure they’re getting enough copper for their needs. Both sheep and goats receive a cobalt bolus once, every 3 years to help prevent cobalt deficiency. Our loose mineral is in a round, three compartment mineral feeder, covered with a round rubber flap the goats can push up with their noses (see photo above). Because we rationally graze, we have the mineral feeders on skids to easily move them to new paddocks. The mineral feeders are the 3 Block Bull Mineral Feeder from Behlen, which are typically found at many farm supply stores (we purchased ours from Farm and Fleet). Here’s a bit more on our other supplements beyond the loose mineral: 
Sodium Bicarbonate: This is the chemical term for baking soda. Think of it as tums for livestock. We have it in a section in our mineral feeder, so the goats and sheep can use it when they need it, depending on what they ate (or how much they ate) in the pasture. We purchase it from our local farm supply co-op, ALCIVIA, in 50 lb. bags, which is much more economical than buying boxes from the grocery store or even in bulk at Costco.
Note: Products included in this blog post includes affiliate links. I only share links to products and resources that I use and like.
Legal disclaimer: All information provided is based on personal experience and is provided for educational and information use only. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless our website, company and owner for any direct or indirect loss or conduct incurred as a result of your use of our website and any related communications. This applies to, but is not limited to, business operational information and consulting, as well as farm and goat management practices.
Any animal health information provided on this website is based on personal experience or information provided by others whose treatments and practices have been discussed with a veterinarian. In all situations, it is the responsibility of the livestock owner to consult with a veterinarian before using any animal health practices shared on this website or by this company and its owner. See the full legal disclaimer here.
Birria Pizza Serves: 3-4 Ingredients: Crust of your choice – scratch, premade 1 cup Birria goat stew meat – recipe here 1-2 cups of Birria broth – from same recipe as stew 1-2 cups - Mozzarella cheese 1 cup Cotija cheese Fresh cilantro ½ cup Onion, chopped Directions
  Greek Burgers Makes 4 burgers Burger Ingredients 1 lb. ground goat - find it here at Cylon Rolling Acres ¾ tsp. Greek seasoning ¾ tsp. Oregano 2 tsp. Minced garlic in water ¼ cup Feta cheese (full fat) ½ tsp. Sea salt Tzatziki Sauce ½ cucumber chopped 8 oz. Greek yogurt, or sour cream 1 tbs. Lemon juice ½ tsp. Sea salt 1 tsp. Dried dill, or 1 tbs. fresh dill, chopped 2 ½ tsp. Minced garlic in water Buns or flat bread – your choice Lettuce Tomato Red Onion To make burgers:
To make tzatziki
Assemble your burger on your bun of choice, top with tzatziki, onion lettuce and tomato.   Garlic Rosemary Burgers Makes 4 burgers Burger Ingredients 1 lb. ground goat - Cylon Rolling Acres ground goat ½ tsp. Rosemary, dried ½ tsp. Sea salt ½ tsp. Pepper 1 tsp. Minced garlic in water Garlic Rosemary Aioli Ingredients ¾ cup Mayonnaise 4 tsp. Minced garlic in water 2 tsp. Dijon mustard 2 tsp. Fresh Rosemary, chopped 1 tbs. Lemon juice Buns – your choice Lettuce Tomato To make burgers:
To make aioli
Assemble your burger on your bun of choice, top with aioli, lettuce and tomato.  
You probably know I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks while working on the farm, doing deliveries or running errands. So I was very honored to be asked to join Cal on the Grazing Grass Podcast to talk about our grazing practices with our meat goat herd. Thank you Cal for the invite and including goats in your episode lineup. Because, yes, goats CAN graze!
If you graze livestock, I’d highly recommend checking out the Grazing Grass Podcast. Cal features a wide variety of grass farmers, including those raising beef, lamb, poultry, dairy, and goats. Listen to the Podcast below, on Apple iTunes or visit the Grazing Grass website. One of my favorite tools I've been using all winter is my twine knife. I use it to cut the twine off the small square bales of hay and small squares of straw for bedding. It also works well for cutting the twine off our round bales of hay in the pasture where we feed our goats over winter. While I do carry a pocket knife, I often misplace it or end up leaving it in the house. This twine knife is bright orange and hard to misplace. The handle makes it easy and pretty safe to use, especially with my seven-year-old. We started with one. Now I keep one in each barn and in the Gator. I've even given them for gifts, yes, that is true! It's the Kaycee Knife. I've purchased several at Tractor Supply and also on Amazon.  Note: Products included in this blog post includes affiliate links. I only share links to products and resources that I use and like.
 If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Marketing our farm’s products direct to consumer is very rewarding and enjoyable, but it has come with a lot of hard work, growth, learning and patience over the years. While I’ve leaned on my own experiences and training in business planning and marketing, I’ve found that it is also very valuable to seek out new opportunities to continue to grow my skills as entrepreneur, in addition to my craft as a farmer. That translates into working with mentors, taking classes, and seeking out other experiences to continue to grow as a business owner, ultimately helping strengthen my farm for the future. One of those experiences has been being a part of the M5 Small Business Accelerator, an online entrepreneurship course led by Mary Heffernan of Five Marys Farms in Fort Jones, Calif. I started the course almost a year and a half ago. It’s been a great decision for our farm, even though we already had been selling our meat direct to our customers. About the course: There are three modules to the M5 Small Business Accelerator Program, think of them as mini-classes: Small Business from Scratch, Social Media from Scratch, and Selling & Shipping from Scratch. I also have access to the Beginning Business Bootcamp and the M5 Community. As soon as I was enrolled the course, I went through all the curriculum to get familiar with the content. I ended up listing to most of the audio instruction while I was working around the farm. My main focus last year was to get our e-commerce platform and shipping program up and running. So I dove into the Selling and Shipping from Scratch module in more detail to get things set up for our farm. This module by far has been the most worthwhile component to the program. Mary shares her process and the different options she’s researched including on to set up an e-commerce site, how to actually ship, packaging options, working with carriers, and the fulfillment process. The time and money I saved figuring out how to set up this up for our farm was well worth the investment of the course. I was able to review the course materials, then explore and research the options and vendors that worked well for us. It’s helped get this part of our business off the ground and running without being stuck in the research phase of where to start. Since we were already up and running the Small Business from Scratch module was a good review, sort of a check list of sorts, to make sure we had certain processes and items in place as a business. I can understand why Mary includes this in the coursework. In order to run your business you need to make sure you have everything in order and not missing pieces. If your farm was adding a direct market component or related business to an existing operation, I can see how this module would be very useful to make sure you have everything in place as you get started. The third module is Social Media from Scratch. This has been a great tool and resource for us is as well in terms of looking at how we approach using social media and marketing platforms to grow our business and build relationships with our community. And I’ll be honest I went through all the coursework in this area so I had a good foundation to help point me, but my focus last year has really been to get my shipping program and e-commerce site up and off the ground. As I move forward this year will be an area where I will dive back into the content again. I’m also a part of the M5 Community, an online community. That part of the program has been so valuable. Mary is right in there answering questions. Other students are sharing resources and experiences. It’s been a very collaborative and supportive community for growing our business. Have questions?! Please Ask!! This is a big investment. I get that!! If you have more questions about the M5 Small Business Accelerator program or want to see some of the work I’ve done, curriculum, etc., please feel free to ask them below in the comments or send me a message at leslie@cylonrollingacres.com. Enrollment closes Friday Right now enrollment for the M5 Small Business Accelerator is open until Friday, April 30. This is the only time that Mary is opening up the course for this year. You can learn more about it here. If you’re on the fence about joining the Accelerator Program, or just getting started with your business the Small Business Bootcamp is a great place to jump in and get started. We have access to that program as well and the curriculum is very hands on with work to get you on the ground and started in your business. A disclaimer, the links to the course are my affiliate links, which means if you sign up through the link, I’ll receive a small commission for the referral. If you said yes to the M5 Small Business Accelerator, here’s my advice: Who-hoo! Congrats for making a great investment in you and your business. Start the coursework right away. Go through everything while you’re excited to grow the business side of your farm and not overwhelmed by it. Then, decide what your focus will be on for the quarter or the year and start working through that part of the coursework. It won’t do you any good to wait to find the right time to put it to use. You need to start somewhere. You’ll only get out of it what you put in. I’ve decided to make the most of my investment and it has been so worth it! Q&A About the M5 Small Business Accellerator Send me your questions and I’ll be glad to answer them. I’ll add them below so others who are considering the coursework can review them as well. Did you learn about grant writing during this program? Or is that something that you have done and researched on your own? So kind of. Mary shares some of the grant opportunities, but most I found on my own. And, really a lot of grants are regionally focused, so it makes sense to do your own digging into opportunities. But where the course has really helped with grants is focusing in on my project and how I'm going to do it and building the budget for it. For example, with the refrigerated trailer I was able to use the M5 community to learn about what other farms are using / addressing the cold transportation challenge and then made the decision on how I was going to meet my goal. I'm working on 2 local foods marketing grants that will help with marketing initiatives - the coursework and community have been great for planning on what I could so for this, as well as building my budget with getting leads on vendors, products, etc. What’s been your experience with the course? Can you offer any insights? I’m concerned that I may not follow through and see results. The course is what you put into it since it’s self-paced. But it is really good. Since it’s a big investment, I’ve decided to utilize as much from it as I could and am continuing to do so. I went through and listened to all the course modules (they’re in video or an audio file) while I worked on the farm then have gone back as I’m working on specific items. I knew if I didn’t do that to start, I may not get to everything right away. My approach is to get out as much as I can from it! How did you get started shipping? Okay, so this question doesn't come up when people ask me about the M5 program, but I get it all the time from other farmers. But it seems to be a good fit to include with this Q&A section. My answer is simple, the M5 Small Business community and course gave me the foundation and resources to get it off the ground and running. |
About LeslieI own and manage Cylon Rolling Acres in northwestern Wisconsin. On my farm I raise Boer - Kiko meat goats on pasture. Why Cylon?
Cylon (pronounced Si-lon) is the name of our township in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. Sorry fans, our farm is not named after the robots of Battlestar Galactica.
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