Goat farming in Falcon is as varied as the goats. Nikki Tafoya, a Falcon resident with three Nubian dairy goats, hopes people will buy some of her new kids (baby goats) next spring. Anna Marie Rogers, a freshman at Colorado Mountain College, raises cashmere goats, which are primarily for fiber. She currently has a herd of 12 goats.Tafoya said that one goat can produce about 1 gallon of milk a day, which means 3 gallons a day for her. She said she uses all the milk to make yogurt and cheese, and she drinks the fresh milk as well. She said that she can’t sell raw milk, but goat owners are allowed to drink it.ìMy family only needs one goat,î Tafoya said. ìBut since goats are herd animals, I can’t have just one.î ìThe best way to handle that is if someone else owns a goat,î she said. ìMaybe someone who lives in town, who can’t have a goat on their property. In exchange for boarding the goat, they pay room and board, and they get whatever the goat produces, whether it be fiber or milk.îFiber is different from milk in that someone doesn’t have to own a share in a goat to obtain the fiber, ìbut they do need to own a goat to have the milk,î Tafoya said. ìOne goat might not be practical for one family; thatís a lot of milk, but they could share with another family, and that’s where shares come in.îTafoya plans on having her goats kid in the spring. If the breeding goes well, she will sell the kids. She and her family haven’t had anyone purchase their goats yet because they are making sure they do everything in accordance with the laws. She said they cannot sell milk unless they are certified through the United States Department of Agriculture and even then they could not sell raw milk. However, she can sell goats and board them for people so those goat owners can have the milk.Goats are ìeasy keepers,î Tafoya said. They are relatively low maintenance and have few health problems. ìI say that tongue in cheek because I’ve had half the problems listed in any book, since I’ve owned them,î she said.Rogers said she has not experienced too many health issues with her herd. ìDifferent breeds or different types have different problems,î she said. ìI’ve learned the smaller goats have more problems birthing because they are smaller.î She said she gives shots to her goats to help prevent overeating disease, but overall does not have any particular concerns about her goats’ health. ìThey are really easy -ñ extremely smart,î Rogers said. ìThey know what weeds are bad for them and which are good for them.îContrary to popular belief, goats are particular about flavor. ìThey don’t make good lawn mowers ó they are very good at weed control,î Tafoya said. ìGoats have the ability to get nutrition out of things that other animals don’t.î Although they eat a lot of weeds, Tafoya buys primarily alfalfa for her herd. ìAlfalfa has a high enough calcium content to help them maintain their calcium output,î she said. Tafoya said domestic goats should be fed baking soda. ìTheir stomachs get over acidified, and they know how much baking soda to eat to remain balanced,î she said.Nutrition is also important for fiber-producing goats. ìTheir nutrition has a lot to do with their fiber,î Rogers said. ìIt’s more than just buying a nice goat and feeding it; you have to think about it more.î She said alfalfa and grain has helped make her herd’s fiber better. The fiber quality is not only affected by what the goats eat, but also where they fall in the pecking order. Goats at the bottom of the order don’t get as much nutrition, so diameter and length of the fibers are affected, she said.Location also plays a role. Rogers said the wind in Falcon tends to affect the crimp in the fiber. ìIt blows it out and straightens it a little more,î she said. ìMost of the time they won’t give as much yield, and that also has to do with where you are. It’s not as cold in Falcon as it is in say Gunnison, so you won’t get as much fiber from a goat in Falcon as you would one in Gunnison.îRogers said she has all of the fiber from her animals because she keeps it all year for shows. ìThe hard part about cashmere is we don’t get a lot each year,î Rogers said. ìIt takes five years for a medium-sized goat to make a medium-sized sweater. We only get about five to seven ounces a year per goat.î She said the high price of cashmere has to do not only with the fiber quality but also because it takes a long time to produce.Rogers, like Tafoya, thinks goats are nice animals. ìThe babies are really cute,î Rogers said. ìThey like to jump around.î Tafoya said owning goats is addictive. ìThey are sweet animals, and it would be easy to let the herd grow.îMore information regarding Rogers’ herd can be found at http://prairiegaitfarm.weebly.com/.
