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New Publication Shares Profitability of the Iowa Dairy Goat Industry

By Larry Tranel

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach dairy team has conducted a 2024 financial study examining the profitability of dairy milk production in Iowa. The findings are available in a new publication, “Profitability of Iowa Dairy Goat Production in 2024,” which can be downloaded from the ISU Extension Store.

Dairy goat producers are encouraged to review the findings and consider how they can use the data to strengthen decision-making and financial performance on their operations.

The study surveyed 16 Iowa dairy goat operations to determine the profitability of their farms. Like most industries, both higher-and-lower-profit producers were grouped by profit to benchmark their incomes and costs on a per milking doe basis. Additionally, many financial ratios were noted, along with their labor efficiencies, on a per-full-time-worker basis.

Larry Tranel, dairy field specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach and publication author, noted that Iowa is a leading state for dairy goat production and genetics, and that profitability is integral to meeting demand.

“There is a thirst for more dairy goat education and an unfilled demand for more goat milk in Iowa that fuels a need for increased understanding of the profitability of milking dairy goats,” he said.

Source : iastate.edu

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Assessing Welfare Resources During Late Finish - Dr. Anna Johnson & Emma Coursey

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In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Anna Johnson from Iowa State University and Emma Coursey from the University of Illinois discuss research evaluating welfare resources during the late finishing stage on commercial swine farms. They explain how feeder management, water use, space allocation, and pig health influence welfare outcomes and practical on-farm management. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Small resource issues can become larger welfare problems when multiple stressors interact across finishing barns."

Meet the guests: Dr. Anna Johnson / anna-johnson-05028a14 is the Morrill Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare at Iowa State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from Texas Tech University and completed her master's degree in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on practical solutions that improve farm animal welfare, including sow productive lifetime, animal-human interaction, environmental enrichment, and Precision Livestock Farming.

Emma Coursey / emma-coursey-183810241 is pursuing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine after earning a bachelor's degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University. Her academic interests include swine health, production, and animal welfare, with research experience evaluating welfare resources in commercial finishing pigs.