Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
According to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 360,000 milk
goats were listed in the United States in January 2011, an increase of 4,000 since the previous
year. Dairy goats are found in every state in the United States, but the largest numbers live in
Wisconsin (50,000 head), California (38,000 head), Iowa (31,000 head), and Texas (20,000
head). Because these statistics are based on dairy operations large enough to be licensed and
regulated as working dairy businesses by the U.S. government, they do not include goats
raised on hobby farms or kept in backyards. The population of producing dairy goats in the
United States could be 400,000 or more if these smaller operations were taken into account.
The main dairy goat breeds in the U.S. are Alpine, LaMancha, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen,
and Toggenburg. Each of these breeds is capable of producing more than 2,000 pounds of
milk per year, but the U.S. imports more than 50 percent of the dairy goat cheese products it
consumes, mostly from France.
CASE STUDY: MEYENBERG GOAT MILK PRODUCTS
Harold Jackson
Meyenburg Goat Milk Products
In 1934, Harold Jackson bought Meyenberg Goat Milk Products because his infant son,
Robert, suffered from cow's milk allergies and digestive problems. Initially, Jackson Mitchell's
Meyenberg Goat Milk Products produced only evaporated goat's milk, sold exclusively in
pharmacies as an alternative for infants sensitive to cow milk. Robert D. Jackson assumed
ownership of the company in 1954, and he and his wife of 43 years,
Carol, turned the small evaporated milk company into the largest manufacturer of goat's milk
products in the U.S. and the preeminent global manufacturer of goat's milk products. Recog-
nizing competition from the proliferation of new infant formulas, Jackson began marketing
goat's milk to a larger population, focusing special attention on health conscious consumers,
seniors, and children.
During the 1980s, a growing national awareness of health and nutrition issues renewed con-
sumer interest in unique natural products. To meet demand, Meyenberg opened plants in
Arkansas and California and doubled his goat milk production and annual sales within a
year. A unique ultra-pasteurization process allowed for a wider distribution of fresh goat's
milk products to markets across the country, including Meyenberg ultra-pasteurized fresh
whole goat milk and 1 percent low-fat pasteurized milk, evaporated, and powdered goat
milk. In 2004, the company introduced European style goat milk butter and goat milk ched-
dar, and in 2008, goat cream cheese.
