Blog BY Staff | 30 March 2020
Goat milk facts
Goats are among one of the oldest domesticated animals known for breeding milk. Australia has developed a number of new breeds for milk production and produce an estimated 16 million litres a year.
Goat milk products have been gaining popularity for their health properties and for being an alternative suitable to people who have a cow milk intolerance. As goat milk has a much smaller fat globule and a different protein to cow milk, allowing for an easier and gentler digestion.
Some Goat breeds known in Australia:
Saanen: Originated from Switzerland and is one of the largest goat breeds. The milk they produce has a low butterfat percentage, roughly around 3.5%. And they are able to produce up to 1145 liters per year. The Saanen goat is one of the largest of the dairy goat breeds.
Toggenburg: This breed also originates from Switzerland and is known to be one of the oldest known breeds of goats. They are generally the smaller of the Swiss breeds and are a solid colour with some white markings.
Australian Melaan: This is a breed developed in Australia and is particularly well suit to the diverse environment conditions in Australia. They are known to be a highly intelligent breed and was officially recognised as a breed in 2000.
Australian Brown: Just as the above breed, the Australian brown goat was bred here and recognized in 2006. They are known for their tall and rangy look. But have a good dairy production and ease of milking.
Nigerian Dwarf: This goat usually looks like a miniature Alpine goat. Even though small in size they are great milk producing goats and some are more likely to be pets then for milk production. They are also the only breed of goat to sometimes have blue eyes.
Alpine: This breed originates in the French Alps and is known for being the most popular dairy milk breed. Their milk is known for having a range of nutrients and suitable for various dairy food product production.
Lamancha: This is generally recognized by its short ear look and therefore sometimes referred to as “earless goats”. There 2 varieties of the LaMancha goats, the gopher and elf. The LaMancha are a high dairy milk production goat.