Starks Farm will Host UMaine Cooperative Extension Goat Enterprise Tour July 21
Contact: Richard Brzozowski, 800-287-1471
FAIRFIELD, Me. — The fifth tour in University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s series of Goat Enterprise Farm Tours will take place on Saturday, July 21 from 10 a.m.-12 noon at Sunny Ridge Farm, 660 Chicken Street in Starks. This tour will focus on raising dairy and meat goats.
UMaine Extension’s series of goat enterprise tours is taking place through September at farms around the state. Designed for anyone who wants to learn more about raising goats for meat, milk or fiber, these tours aim to teach sound goat husbandry and help support the growing Maine market for local cheese and meat. All tours are free and open to the public. No registration is required, but people should arrive at the designated tour start times.
The remaining tours will take place at farms in Dresden and Saco. Call UMaine Extension’s Cumberland County office at 800-287-1471 for details.
Goats have been a traditional farm animal around the world for centuries. Considered browsers rather than grazers as they prefer leaves over grass, goats are known for their productivity and resourcefulness in grazing brush land. Raising goats is becoming increasingly popular in Maine, and it’s not hard to understand why. According to the American Dairy Goat Association, the fat and protein in goat milk is more easily digested than that in cow milk, and goat milk is often tolerated by people allergic to cow milk. Goat milk is also naturally homogenized. Goat meat, called chevon, is low in fat and calories compared to beef, and is one of the most commonly eaten meats worldwide.
For more information about raising goats, contact UMaine Extension Educator Richard Brzozowski, at 800-287-1471 or rbrz@umext.maine.edu. To be placed on UMaine Extension’s statewide goat mailing list, contact Melissa Potts at 800-287-7170 or mpotts@umext.maine.edu.