She Makes Money With Meat Goats

She Makes Money With Meat Goats Leslie Svacina educates meat goat producers through her blogs, videos and online courses. When she started raising goats to sell for their meat, there were very few resources available for marketing goat meat. “I’d been in marketing with a large agricultural company before raising goats,” says Svacina. “A friend suggested I look into growing them, given the changing demographics and rising demand for goat meat.” What Svacina found was a definite opportunity, but goat meat was challenging to find in stores. Unlike cattle, hogs and lambs, there was little information available on direct marketing goats. “Learning to sell my goat meat has been a journey,” she says. “I looked for extension information from states that had a lot of goats and learned from mentors like the family I bought my first goats from.” Gradually, she developed her own direct marketing program, which included online sales. She also began practicing intensive grazing. Here, too, she found little information as goats are primarily raised to eat browse. “On both the marketing and grazing sides, I looked at what was going on with best management practices with other ruminants, especially sheep,” says Svacina. “I adapted their grazing approaches to goats. On the marketing side, I looked at trends in the food industry, communicating with customers and understanding consumer behavior.” Svacina was determined to share what she learned through research and her own experience. Initially, she started a blog to communicate with her customers. “Over time, questions started coming in from other goat farmers about production and marketing,” says Svacina. “In 2020, I started a second blog targeted at educating existing goat farmers and those interested in getting into the business.” As she added social media activities, she began receiving invitations to speak at regional conferences. People were contacting her from around the country. At the same time, her marketing program was evolving quickly. She built a customer base that included direct-to-consumers, as well as restaurants, butcher shops and grocery stores. Today, she direct markets 95% of her production, focusing on customers within 45 min. of her location. She’s also built her online sales. “I have customers throughout the lower 48 states, especially the greater Midwest, as well as the East and West Coasts,” she says. What hasn’t changed is her communications with customers and other farmers. They include two different websites. The Cylon Rolling Acres site is for her customers. Her Learn About Goat Meat page on that site is an in-depth introduction to the subject. She covers both prime cuts and organ meats, even bones, and offers a free Goat Meat Cooking Guide. The Grazing With Leslie site provides resources for both current and prospective goat farmers. It’s home to a blog and a wide array of introductory free resources. It also hosts links to e-pamphlets and workshops, including her Goat Meat Marketing Academy, which is offered in February. She offers an on-demand workshop, Raising Goats with Rotational Grazing, for $47. Her Canva Template Bundle is a package that includes templates for social media graphics, as well as a cooking guide and a nutrition guide. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Leslie Svacina, Ceylon Rolling Acres, Deer Park, Wis. 54007 (hello@cylonrollingacres.com; www.cylonrollingacres.com; www.grazingwithLeslie.com).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.