The farm

Housing

	The goats are housed in specially designed and purpose built light and airy buildings, loose housed and bedded on straw. They run in groups that have grown up together, and are of a similar age and lactation stage.

Feeding

	Our goats are fed a TMR (total mixed ration) specially designed for the dairy goat. It is based on maize silage (which we grow here on the farm - 130 acres in 2003), sugar beet, wheat feed, soya, lucerne and a specially formulated dairy goat mineral. The goats are fed once a day, using a Shelbourne Reynolds feeder wagon, which also mixes the feed (see photo)

We have our silage analysed, and the diet is formulated, using a purpose developed spreadsheet, depending on silage analysis results, mixed in the feeder wagon. We have a high yielders diet, and a low yielders/youngstock diet. It is fed to the yield of the group or to attain optimal growth rates for kid growth. Goats have access to high quality hay in order that they have enough long fibres in their diet to maintain a healthy rumen.

Youngstock

	Kids stay on their mothers for 5 days, then are bottle fed individually for 5 days then introduced to adlib milk from milk machines (calf milk replacer) and are reared in groups of 10, in specially designed kid housing. They are weaned gradually off milk at 7-8 weeks, depending on their body weight, onto pro-kid nuts and hay.

Once weaned they are moved to kid sheds (see photo above) where they stay until they reach 30 kilos bodyweight (around 6 months old), when they are served. They are introduced gradually to the TMR at 5 months old.

Situation

	The farm is situated on the beautiful Newby Hall Estate, near Ripon, on the edge of the Vale of York, close to the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks.