​Have you ever wondered: Is buying a whole goat right for me? The reality is that buying a whole goat isn’t for everyone. So how do you know if it’s for you?
 
Here are seven questions to ask yourself if you’re considering ordering a whole goat for you and your family. 

1. Are you willing to try new cuts of goat meat? 
Are you willing to eat all your cuts of goat meat? Part of the experience of purchasing a whole goat, may also mean trying out new recipes and ways to cook goat.

If you only want goat chops and shanks, buying a whole goat isn’t for you. 
 
A whole goat order typically includes ground meat, leg, shoulder roast, shoulder steaks, chops, rack or rib chops, ribs, shanks, stew meat (curry cubes) and an option for organ meat (liver, heart, tongue, and kidney), as well as bones. You do have the option to leave out some cuts and opt for more ground or stew meat.
 
How do you feel about trying new cuts of goat meat? 

• Yes, I’m up for it.
• No, I’m not so sure.

3. Will you eat it within a year?*
Typically, a whole goat will give you about 22-30 lbs. of usable meat (this is different from hanging weight, see this article for more details).  Depending on your recipes or cuts of meat, this could work out to 10-15 meals, or a recipe using pound of goat meat every two weeks. 
 
Are you able to eat all of your goat meat?

• Yes, of course
• No, I’m not sure

*Note: The USDA says frozen meat can be stored up to a year.  

5. Do you want to know your farmer? 
Knowing your farmer is important, because you’re able to know how they raise their goats for meat. This includes where the goats live (Do they have enough room to move around? Do they have access to pasture?), how the goats are being fed (pasture, hay/grain combination, heavy grain), how the goats are being handled and so on. Ask about these farming practices to know what you’re getting. 
 
By supporting local farmers, you know your meat is coming from a local source, and not imported from thousands of miles away, which is often the case with most goat meat found in grocery stores in the U.S.
 
Do you want to support local farmers?

• Yes, I want to know where my meat comes from.
• No, it doesn’t really matter.

7. Are you willing to wait to order your whole goat? 
Typically farms who sell whole goats, will offer the opportunity to order once or twice a year. 
 
Usually, this happens because farms raise goats on a seasonal basis, meaning goat kids are born once a year and are ready for market (the general term for sale!) during that year. 
 
While some goats might have multiple groups of goat kids born throughout a year, it is not as common. 
 
Are you ok with waiting to order your whole goat once a year? 

• Yes, I can do that. 
• No, I might not be able to wait. 

This is the second blog post in a four-part Grazing Goats Article Series. The first article, Pasture Fencing for Goats, can be read here.

Electric fence is a great fencing option for goats. However, it is only as good as the training the goats receive. If there's no training, there's a greater chance, or even better chance, that your goats will get out. With the proper training, the goats should respect the fence and not escape. 

Each spring our goats are given a "refresher" training, and new goats to the farm, kids or purchased goats, are also trained on how to use the electric fence. Between having good perimeter fencing (see part I) and fence training with portable electric fence, we have little to no issues with our goats staying in the pasture. On occasion kids may get outside a paddock with portable fencing or out of the perimeter fencing since they are smaller, but they always come back to their moms. Once they get older it's not a habit that continues. 

Here's how we fence train our goats:

The prep work:

• Set up the temporary electric fence in a small loop or square, so there's enough room for the goats being trained to comfortably move around and eat grass
• This should be inside of a permanent fence, or put up a second temporary fence as a "back up" fence, giving some extra space in between fences
• Make sure you can quickly and easily turn off the fence. For us, that's unclipping the alligator clips from the temporary fence to the permanent fence, which is how we access the electricity from our energizer.
• The first time training the goats on the fence, there are usually two of us. That makes it easier to turn off the fence if a goat gets out (or to chase that goat!).
• Before turning the goats out, we will make sure they have eaten some hay for the day. So we usually, will start training in the afternoon. The goats love the lush grass, so this helps prevent them from overeating and causing bloat. It also helps their rumen adjust from dry matter to fresh forage. 
• If it's a larger group, I may split the group up into smaller groups.

The actual fence training:

• Turn out the goats into the training space and watch. I will usually pull up a lawn chair and take notes on the goats that touch the fence. I like to make sure all the goats touch the electric fence at least once, if not twice. It doesn't take long for them to remember how it works. 
• I also pay more attention to the younger goats who haven't been on pasture before. The older does usually remember quickly how the fence works. 
• The first day, I leave them out for maybe an hour, making sure all the animals experience the fence. Then I close off access to the pasture. 
• The second day, I'll wait until the afternoon again, making sure they've eaten some hay. I'll then let them out for a longer period. I'll watch again, but this time I might do some other work around the barn.
• Repeat for another day, possibly more depending on how the goats are taking to the fence. 
• The goal is to have the goats respect the fence. They may be busy eating grass and touch their nose. They may yelp in surprise and jump back. That's ok. We don't want the animals charging through the fence or getting tangled. 

After training: 

• The goats should be ready for rotation grazing with temporary fencing. 
• I always keep an extra eye on them for the first week or so as they continue to get adjusted to the fence, especially with younger kids. 

Tips for success all season

• Make sure the fence is always ON, HOT and not grounding out. A fence tester is a handy tool to help monitor how the fence is working.
• Always make sure they have enough to eat. If they don't, they will want to go where the food is outside of the fence. It's important to watch pasture levels and rotate the herd into new paddocks. 
• GET RID OF THE JUMPERS. I will usually give them one chance. But you can tell quickly with goats, who the naughty, instigators are. They will teach other goat's bad habits. 

If you raise goats, what has worked for you for training goats to respect electric fence?

In the video below you'll see an example of how we fence train our goats to portable electric fence.

Watch for the next blog post on the basics of rotational goats in this grazing goat series. Sign up for our online community here so you don’t miss the next post and to learn more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat. 

If you missed the first article in this Grazing Goats Series, you can find it here: Pasture Fencing for Goats.

I’m honored, and a bit humbled, to share that I’m featured in the most recent issue of the Rural Route magazine, which goes out to farm families and others involved in agriculture in Wisconsin. You can read the full article below to learn more about how I got my start in farming, as well as raising meat goats and direct marketing goat meat in western Wisconsin.

I’d also like to give a big thank you to Amy Eckelberg from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau for asking me to do the interview and coming all the way to northwestern Wisconsin to take photos for the story in one of the hottest times of the year.

She also started to learn the art of taking pictures with livestock guardian dogs sniffing and licking you and figuring out how to get a good shot of grazing goats. This includes not just getting them to face you but attempting to not get too many goat rear ends or anyone taking care of business in the shot. I think Amy did ok, if you look at her pictures! 
​
Enjoy the read! 

P.S. The magazine also featured a number of grilling recipes in the Farm Flavor section from my personal food Instagram account: @GrillingLikeSteven You can check those out here. 
​
If you want to see the whole magazine, click here to read it.

If you haven't joined our Meat List, you can sign up here. We share goat meat recipes, cooking tips, promotions, and let you know when goat meat (including when to order whole goats). 

If you're raising meat goats or are thinking about rasing meat goats, you can sign up for our online community here to learn more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat. 

Electric fence is a must for keeping goats on pasture: keeping them and our livestock guardian dogs in, AND keeping predators out. 

As good as electric fence is, it isn't foolproof. Sometimes it's not working as well as it could be. 

The only way you might not know is if... hmm... a goat breaks out of your paddock fence, or you find one of your livestock guardian dogs roaming the whole pasture. Thank goodness for perimeter fence! (Learn how we use permanent, perimeter fence and temporary paddock fencing in this article).

So how do I know if the fencer is working like it should be? I will look at the fencer itself (see picture below) and check to see if it's fully energized, with the lights flashing all the way up to green. If it's not something could be grounding it out. But, do I always want to run back to the barn and troubleshoot? No. 

So, enter in one of my favorite grazing / electric fencing tools -- a fence tester. I have the Fault Finder by Gallagher.

When I suspect the fence might not be as hot as usual, or not even on at all, I'll take out the Fault Finder and test the fence. It will show the KV running through the fence, and if there's a grounding issue it will point an arrow to direct you in the direction it's at. It gives me a general idea of where to check the fence to look for down trees, areas where deer may have knocked down the top high tensile wire and it's now touching the woven wire, or other issues. These tend to be my most common issues. 

I also like to use the fence tester when I'm running more temporary fence than usual, or running temporary fence outside of our permanent fenced in pasture. These are instances where I want to be especially certain the fence is HOT. The more electric wire I put on my energizer, the greater odds it might drop the KV. Usually, in these instances, I might also need to do more trimming or knocking down grass and brush to make sure there's no other grounding issues, which impact how hot the fence is.

If you're going to use electric fence and graze, this is a tool to have. There are several options out there to choose from. I happened to use Gallagher's Fault Finder since I use a lot of their fencing products and have been happy with the quality and performance.

if you're interested in learning more about more of my favorite goat things and how we’re raising meat goats on pasture, join our online community for raising goats for meat here.

I’m honored, and a bit humbled, to share that I’m featured in the most recent issue of the Rural Route magazine, which goes out to farm families and others involved in agriculture in Wisconsin. You can read the full article here to learn more about how I got started raising meat goats in western Wisconsin. 

The magazine also featured a number of grilling recipes in the Farm Flavor section from my personal food Instagram account: @GrillingLikeSteven You can check those below. My food account follows my grilling and smoking adventures, mostly following recipes and cooking techniques from one of our family favorite grilling gurus / personalities, Steven Raichlen of the Barbecue Bible. He is also a regular on PBS.
​
If you’re on Instagram give my farm a follow at @CylonRollingAcres, and if you like a good food feed add my “fun” handle at @GrillingLikeSteven. 

​If you want to see the whole magazine, click here to read it.

To make your gyros complete, tzatziki (pronounced Zatsiski) sauce is a must. You might be able to buy it in the store, but if you can’t or want to make it from scratch here’s a quick way to make your gyro sauce:
 
Tzatziki Sauce – the Gyro Sauce
½ cucumber  
8 oz. of Greek yogurt (not a fan of yogurt, sub with sour cream)
1 tbs. lemon juice
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried dill (or 1 tbs chopped, fresh dill)
2 ½ tsp of minced garlic from a jar (or fresh if desired)
 
Directions

1. Finely chop the cucumber, set aside
2. Mix yogurt and lemon juice together
3. Mix in cucumber and garlic
4. Mix in salt, pepper and dill
5. Chill for 5-10 minutes before serving. I like to let it chill while I’m prepping our gyro meat (lightly pan frying to warm).
6. Serve on top of our farm’s gyro meat (get it here) on flat bread (recipe here), with lettuce, onion and tomato. 

Order your goat gyro meat from Cylon Rolling Acres here. For more goat meat recipes, cooking tips, promotions, and to know when goat meat is available, sign up for our email list here.

I love making fresh naan flat bread when we have gyros at home. It makes such a big difference in the whole gyro experience vs using pita bread or even store-bought flat bread. Here’s my go-to recipe for flat bread from scratch. And, yes, it is easy. It’s even easier if you have a bread machine (or your parents have one or you find one at a thrift store).  If you’re tight on time naan from the store will work just fine.
 
Easy Naan Flat Bread for Gyros Recipe
Makes 6 flat breads. Perfect for gyros fresh from your kitchen. I love using our own Cylon Rolling Acres goat gyro meat, which you can also use by ordering it here.  
 
Ingredients 
1 tbs olive oil
½ c Greek yogurt
½ c milk
2 c flour
½ tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tsp SAF yeast
 
2 TBS butter melted for brushing on top
Pink Himalayan Salt or Sea Salt 
 
Bread Machine Instructions– SO EASY!! 

1. Put ingredients in bread machine pan in the following order: olive oil, yogurt, milk, flour, salt, baking soda and yeast. Run on DOUGH setting. 
2. Prep two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 
3. Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. When dough is ready, take out of pan and split into six balls. 
4. Roll out balls to flat circles, about ½ inch thick or thinner if desired. I like to use a small sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough to flatten by hand. 
5. Brush butter on top of each circle and sprinkle with salt, if desired. 
6. Bake one sheet at a time. About 8-10 minutes until the bread is just starting to brown. For a more flexible flat bread, cook at the shorter time range, taking the bread out just before it starts to brown

1. Eat! Best served immediately. Keeps for 2-3 days. Refrigerate for freshness. 

 
Make your gyros! Fill with Cylon Rolling Acres gyro meat (find it here) and top with lettuce, thinly sliced onion, tomato and tzatziki sauce. 
 
In the future I will be converting this to a by hand or mixer version.
 
Recipe inspiration: Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook. 

Order your goat gyro meat from Cylon Rolling Acres here. For more goat meat recipes, cooking tips, promotions, and to know when goat meat is available, sign up for our email list here.

We’re excited to share that we’ve joined the New Richmond Chamber of Commerce. To celebrate, we’re offering a special sale to Chamber members and their employees: 15% off the purchase of our goat meat in stock at our farm store near Deer Park. Sale is good until Aug. 31, 2019.
 
To order, visit our online Farm Store and promo code “NR Chamber.” You’ll receive an email confirming your order is in stock and then arrange to pick up your order at the farm store. 
 
As a member of the New Richmond Chamber of Commerce, we will now accept Chamber Gift Certificates for the purchase of goat meat at our farm store.
 
About Our Farm and Goat Meat
We know it often can be hard to find goat meat in the grocery store and if it is available it’s often imported all the way from Australia. At our farm, Cylon Rolling Acres, we raise Boer-Kiko cross meat goats on pasture using rotational grazing practices. The farm is located east of New Richmond, just a few miles past the “four corners” of highways 64/46/63.
 
We offer cuts of goat meat, gyro meat, organ meat and bones for sale at our licensed farm store. A whole goat can be ordered for bulk pricing in fall-winter. All meat is cut and packaged at a USDA inspected facility to ensure quality and safety standards. Limited retail cuts of meat are also for sale at Jewelltown Roastery in Star Prairie and seasonally on the menu at the Farm Table in Amery.

​For more goat meat recipes, cooking tips, promotions, and to know when goat meat is available, sign up for our email list here.

There’s a popular saying, if a fence can’t hold water, it can’t hold a goat. While it’s true that goats are more challenging to fence as compared to other livestock, it isn’t as big of an issue as what some might think. However, the right type fence, energizer and training is important. It is often one of the most common barriers for raising goats – having the right fencing. 
 
When we decided to raise goats, we knew that fencing was important, and it needed to be done right. Our perimeter fence specs were developed by a USDA – NRCS conservationist / grazing specialist with some consultation from a well-regarded fence installer who has experience with fencing goats and sheep. We didn’t want to lose our goats, nor did we want to be in a situation where we weren’t on good terms with our neighbors. 
 
Our goat perimeter fencing is about 47 inches high and is high tensile woven wire with a strand of hot high tensile wire about 6 inches above the woven wire to keep predators from jumping or climbing over and keep the goats in.  At the bottom, a few inches below the woven wire and a few inches above the ground is a strand of barbed wire to deter animals from digging under, specifically our livestock guardian dogs and predators, like coyotes. Fence posts are spaced about 16 feet.
 
The woven wire opening is 6 inches wide and starts at 3 inches tall openings. Each opening going up to the top gets a little bit bigger, with the top opening at 7 inches tall.   The majority of our goats are horned. On occasion some of our younger goats will get their heads stuck in the fence, trying to eat grass outside the pasture. Usually if there’s enough to eat in a paddock (a section of the pasture) this isn’t an issue. Older goats typically can’t push their heads through since their horns are large enough to stop them. If a goat continuously gets stuck, we may put a “crown” on her head temporarily to help train her to not stick her head through. This is a piece of flexible pipe about 8-10 inches long and then duct taped to the horns. If the goat tries to push her head through the fence to eat, the pipe will stop her. It’s a safe way to train her to stop this habit. Goats that are stuck in fences may be more susceptible to predators or bullying from more aggressive goats.
 
Traditional high tensile wire can be used as well. It’s recommended that if you go this route to use a 5-wire set up. According to Randy Cutler of Cutler Fence, who did our fencing installation, goat and sheep fence should be 36-48 inches high with the bottom wire at 6-12 inches above the ground. Woven wire should be 14 gauge, with the spacing at 4x4 inches up to 12 inches between the verticals.
 
Our pasture gates are traditional pipe gates with cattle panel mounted on them with hose clamps. We’ve found this option to be more durable than the gates with wire mesh built in. 
 
Do our goats get out? On occasion a kid might sneak out through a fence opening, between a fence post and a gate, or under a gate. But, as soon as they sneak out, their moms are calling them back and back they go.
 
Since we practice rotation grazing, we use portable fencing to divide our pasture into paddocks. The first few years we used electronet fencing from Premier 1 Fencing (ElectroStop 10/42/12). It worked well. However, we were grazing three different groups of goats and our pasture was old overgrown CRP land with lots of brush and trees. It got to be cumbersome to move that much fence and it would often get tangled on brush or tree stumps. The last three years we’ve been using Gallagher’s Smart Fence and I love it. It is easy to put up and take down. It’s also easy to transport. I can put several fences in the back of my gator, along with other grazing gear and there’s no issue with the fencing getting tangled. 
 
To create paddocks, we have a short temporary fence set up running down the middle of the pasture built with t-posts and step in posts strung with poly wire. Then, we set up two Smart Fences running from the perimeter fence to the center temporary fence to create the paddock. Then an alligator clip connects the portable fence to the top hot wire on the perimeter fence. 
 
Our energizer is located our barn and is a M1500 Gallagher (15 stored joules, up to 160 miles, 900 acres). We had a M120 (1.2 stored joules, up to 15 miles/60 acres), but upgraded it this grazing season so we could continue to run more portable fencing and keep the fence hotter. 
 
The video below is one I made a few seasons back explaining the Smart Fence and why I like to use it on the farm with our meat goats.

​​Watch for the next blog post on fence training goats in this grazing goat series. Sign up for our online community here so you don’t miss the next post and to learn more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat. 

I’m a big podcast fan. I listen when I’m working around the farm or cleaning up the kitchen at night after the kids are in bed. One of my favorites is the Savor Podcast from Stuff Media. It’s the perfect ear candy for a foodie (that’s me!). I had a chance to listen to their episode on Shawarma and Gyros thought our farm friends and community might find it interesting as well! 
 
The episode from earlier this year dives into the two flatbread wraps, which both include shaved meat. The hosts discuss the history of both shawarma and gyros, what makes them different, and other interesting information about these popular wraps. 
 
You can find the podcast episode here on Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.   

If you’re now thinking gyros, you can find our flat bread naan recipe and tzatziki sauce recipe on our website and also order our goat gyro meat through our farm store. 
 
Source: "Shawarma and Gyros: Assemble!" 26 April 2019.
Stuff Media LLC. <https://www.savorpod.com/podcasts/shawarma-and-gyros-assemble.htm> 15 August 2019