JACKSON, Ky. – Kentucky ranks sixth nationally for goat inventory, totaling nearly 59,000 head. Market goat numbers in the Bluegrass State are up 5.4 percent from 2023. Annually the state’s goat industry adds more than $3.5 million in revenue to Kentucky’s agricultural receipts. It’s no wonder, then, that April has been designated Kentucky Goat Month.

The versatile aspects of the Kentucky goat industry are many. Goats provide mohair, meat, milk and forage control just to name a few. Goat owners across the state are making use of their animals in an assortment of ways.

Brian and Jennifer Hall, of Rustic Charm Farm in Jackson, have turned their dream of owning a farm and raising a few Nigerian Dwarf goats into a reality – and a business.

“The Nigerian Dwarf goat is a small breed that doesn’t take up a lot of space, nor do they require a lot of feed,” Brian said. “We run a closed herd and all our goats come from a disease-free herd. As responsible farmers, we take the health and well-being of our goats very seriously.”

Not only do they raise and sell their goats but they make goat milk soap, lotions and shaving products, and gift baskets with goat milk items.

“We take the fresh milk from our goats twice daily and turn what they give us into skin care products,” Jennifer said. “Their milk has a lot of beneficial nutrients in it, which makes it good for use in skin care products. There are a lot of good amino acids and vitamins in goat milk that are beneficial for your skin. It’s been proven that goat milk products are excellent for relief from eczema and other dry skin issues. It’s also been known to help people with neuropathy and diabetes.”

Nigerian Dwarf goats are beneficial due to their compact size and friendly, gentle nature. They’re suitable as pets. These goats often produce multiple kids per birth, increasing potential milk production. Their manure is considered odorless and can be used as natural compost.

Deborah Cook, owner of Oak Haven Fiber Farm in Bath County, Ky., regularly attends the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival in Lexington the third weekend in May. At that festival she sells raw and washed wool, along with some handmade items such as crocheted hats and clothes made from her goats’ mohair. She also takes a few of her Angora goats to the festival to keep her company.

“I bought a little property near Owensville, Ky., and I like to process my own fiber from my Angora goats,” Cook said. “I check on my goats twice a day and shear them twice a year. I work fulltime at Morehead State University and in the afternoons, I like to spend my time with my goats.”

Angora goats are raised primarily for their mohair, a specialty hair fiber used in clothing and upholstery. Angora goats are also cost-efficient to raise, producing twice as much fiber as sheep while eating a similar amount. Unlike the goats raised by the Halls, Angora goats are not good milk animals.

Angela Correll, of Stanford, Ky., turned her love of goats into a business – Kentucky Soaps & Such.

Correll once had a backyard pasture full of pet goats. Though Correll was content to let the goats live a life of leisure on her farm, her husband, Jess, a businessman and part-time farmers, wanted the animals to produce something of value or retire elsewhere.

Unwilling to part with them, Angela began to research goats and discovered a host of benefits their nutrient-rich milk could offer. She decided to make goat milk soap as a way for her pets to earn their keep, and in 2003 Angela’s niece, Lea Ann, made the first successful batch of soap. That day, the Plainview Farm product line, named after Jess and Angela’s farm, was born.

To this day, Plainview Farm products are made on-site at a store in Stanford.

“We make our soaps, scrubs and salts form scratch and mix our creams and liquid soaps with high-quality oils,” Angela said. “We’re passionate about making products that support local farmers and provide healing benefits for our customers.”