THERE comes a time in your goat herd when you might have produced several females, all producing milk when you think "it would be nice to sell some of this white stuff" or you may be thinking that perhaps you would like to add to your existing goats and get some sort of return from them. This, of course, could encompass meat and skins too. This article is aimed at the smallholder and not at those who might be considering a large herd of several hundred goats. On that subject, no one should embark on industrial-scale goat-keeping without several years' experience of goats on a smaller scale or without the help of a very experienced management team. So, for us smallholders some timely advice for those who maybe innocently but illegally passing on your wares already or for those who might like to do so while complying with the law.

Stay ahead of the regulations. It is easier than you may have been lead to believe to legally and safely sell your goats' milk to the general public.

You cannot legally give, barter or sell you goats' milk to anyone outside your immediate family (technically, if you take the regulations literally, it is actually illegal to give the milk to you family too without approvals and so if it is your intention to become a "commercial herd" however small, it pays to be on the right side of the law before you begin. Once identified as a "regulation dodger" within the various agencies relating to agriculture and environmental health, you will find that your reputation will go before you and you will encounter numerous problems.

My advice to anyone regarding animal and food regulations with all species it to be a step ahead of the regulations that exist and be able to quote them chapter and verse if challenged.

Remember that regulations exist not to make your life difficult but to make sure you, your animals and the general public stay safe and that nothing untoward gets into the food chain.

For the purposes of this article, I am going to presume that you are thinking "non organic" in official terms. I will deal with organic production in a later article.

Where to start. Your first port of call should be to your local environmental health office. Speak to your local officer and ask to be sent a copy of the Dairy Regulations. These can also be obtained online.

He/she may offer to visit to give advice but I would suggest you read the Dairy Regulations first because as I suggested, you will then have an understanding of the various rules and what will be involved in order for you to get the necessary permissions to start selling your produce to the public. In time, once you have satisfied the hygiene requirements of the environmental health officer, he will approach the Dairy Hygiene Inspectorate on your behalf and set the wheels in motion.

Once you have a copy of the Dairy Regulations, don't be daunted by its rather robust contents - they are aimed at large farming concerns which are probably far more complex than your own smallholding set up. Because all food producers, however small, need to be singing from the same song sheet, all food regulations are "universal" so you have to be producer specific when taking them apart. I would suggest that you go through them with a highlighter pen to ascertain which bits relate to you and your proposed enterprise.

The ones that are really going to affect you are the need to have a clean area which has a separate air space to that in which your goats live.

The need not to have poultry, dogs or cats in or around this "clean" area.

The requirement to be able to handle your milk in an area that is not your kitchen area. This will not mean that you have to rebuild your home but it should be quite easy to modify what you have to comply.

The rules are actually very sensible and if you produce dairy products from your animals for your family you should be fulfilling this requirement anyway to eliminate risks to their health.

I can hear you saying already, "But I've been drinking milk from Nelly for the last five years and milking her in her stall and I'm fine!"

When we live in a farm or smallholding environment, we tend to obtain a degree of immunity to some of the "bugs" that emanate from our home-produced food but, of course, this will not be the case for our potential market so here we have to be super responsible.

So, a separate milking "room" is obligatory. When I first started my commercial herd, I ran the goats out of a timber stable block which had a tack room attached. The tack room shared the same air space as the stables and so I easily managed to put a false ceiling in it, white-emulsioned it and sealed the concrete floor with concrete paint and we were there. The walls need to be scrubable or hoseable and so you need to use the appropriate paint-these were timber remember.

If you have solid construction walls it becomes easier. I needed to repaint the walls twice a year to make sure they remained waterproof but if the walls are solid, once a year should be sufficient.

A metal body of a small container would also work well. The key is something that you can keep hosed or washed out after every milking time. You could even use a small garden shed which is separate from where the goats are but not too far away (consider moving it?) and is not used for anything else and has a solid floor. We are smallholders remember, ever resourceful and able to make something out of nothing so use your imagination and view it all from an inspector's eyes!

The next thing is obviously that your goats are fit and healthy and providing a clean milk sample. This will be tested before you are able to sell your milk and also tested regularly. An environmental health officer will call on a regular basis and take a random sample, usually in the receptacle you sell it in. You will be contacted if there are any problems. Like most things, "no news is good news".

When you are inspected, the officer will want to watch your milking routine to make that all important risk assessment and advise if there are any perceived problems. There should be no problems with you hand-milking and in many ways this is easier when you first start off with one or two goats. As time goes by you may want to consider a small milking machine. However, this does involve a lot more cleaning! Young hands cope well with milking up to five goats twice a day but older ones very soon suffer with carpel tunnel syndrome and tenosynovitis, so be warned.

Essential basic equipment
Going for the bare minimum for your embryonic and possibly no growth business because you may simply want to provide milk for a few customers and your family, you need only have some basic requirements.

  • 2 stainless steel lidded buckets
  • 1 stainless steel milk strainer
  • Filter papers
  • Dairy wipes
  • Dairy hypochlorite
  • Fridge kept specifically for milk
  • Fridge thermometer and temperature control book
  • Dairy thermometer
  • Milk cartons and lids
  • Labels (these can be home-made)
  • Utility room with a bowl and a half sink or separate wash hand basin.

If your utility room (which is about to become your dairy) has a washing machine/tumble drier in it, then it is best if you can move this. However, if you can show your environmental health/dairy hygiene inspector that you can safely handle your milk with a time separation between the laundry usage of the room and that the working areas are sufficiently clean and treated with hypochlorite or something similar, they will usually not have a problem with this. This room will have to be regarded as a "clean" room and no dogs/cats, dirty vegetables, wellies etc can be kept there.

Doesn't this sound complicated? Well, actually it isn't, but you have got to want to make this work.

Where do I get it all from? Obtaining appropriate equipment is easy. Either use an internet or telephone supplier such as Goat Nutrition, surf the net or even check out auction sites such as eBay for the things you need.

Labels for your product can be home-made on a computer or you can go to a specialist labelling company.

You will need to communicate with your local trading standards office (you will already be familiar with this from your animal movements) as to the current legislation for your labelling. It is better to get it right from the start rather than have to repeat it again later.

If you sell from the farm gate, you will not to have to obtain a EU/UK mark (the little oval mark that you see on food from shops). If you want to sell at farmers' markets, via a third party or to the catering trade, you will have to apply for this and then you will be further inspected and given a number which is yours and yours alone and must be displayed on your product. If you expand your range, you will have to seek further approvals.

You can sell your milk unpasteurised. In my experience, most people who want goats' milk do not want it pasteurised.

If you feel pasteurisation is safer (some environmental health officers will try to persuade you that it is better but don't be pressured if you believe you are doing the right thing - your milk sample will be the proof of the pudding!) then you will need to buy a small pasteuriser. Be prepared to spend a couple of hundred pounds on a new one.

Make sure that you have at least two goats who are producing six to eight pints of milk a day. That they are healthy, happy and easy milkers with good udders. If they fulfil the criteria of the first sentence of this paragraph, the rest will be academic anyway!

They should be spending a good period of the day on good grazing and have first class stall accommodation with pens at least six feet square each. They should be cleaned out daily if possible and have scrupulously clean bedding and floors.

Economics and viability. Before you start, work out the economics for you and your family. Be sure that your management of your dairy goats will enable you to supply the needs of your customers. If you let them down once you may lose them forever.

Be prepared to embrace the fact that you will have to milk twice a day, 365 days a year, unless you have a trained person to take over.

Accept that you may have to cull out or re-home dairy goats that do not produce efficiently.

Understand that you will have to breed from at least one female annually in order to keep your supply consistent.

Accept that you will have kids to dispose of every year and that you will take responsibility for their ultimate fate. Most herds find the ratio of males to females is greater and that will involve castration and rearing for meat or humane destruction within a few days of birth. Never pass them on to an unknown source.

In summary, running a commercial dairy herd, however small, is a rewarding experience and you can produce a much need product with pride.

Farming on any scale is hard work, badly paid in monetary terms but gives a lifestyle craved by many and holds benefits which can never be counted. If this is your dream,.follow it, embrace it and never look back. Good luck!