working on a goat farm? Any in NC?

[marlowmanor]

I have read about some of y'all that have jobs on goat farms . I have been thinking about maybe finding a job like that. How would I go about first finding a goat farm, and secondly getting a job there? Do I have to have a degree to do work like that? I think it would be neat to see how a goat farm is run and get more hands on experience. Doesn't matter if it is a meat or dairy farm. I would love to be able to work with goats on a daily basis! If anyone in NC knows about any goat farms that may hire let me know. I'd love to find something near me.

 

[ksalvagno]

Have you tried searching on the internet to see if there are farms near you?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I have worked on several different dairy farms and when I left the last one I made a promise to myself that I never would again. When you're young and single, jobs that require you to be there 65+ hours per week are not ideal. Dairy farms are demanding, but also can be rewarding. You'll definitely learn a lot. Depending on what job you do, you don't really need a degree. How many of the dairy farmers have degrees? Not many at all. Milking certainly doesn't require a degree. Good luck with your search!

 

[marlowmanor]

Have you tried searching on the internet to see if there are farms near you?

I tried to look it up. I found some farms but none were real close and I think most were family farms. I know there is a dairy cow operation not far from my dad's house but I don't think I want to work with cows.

Honestly I'm not sure what to search for and if the hours are as bad as angieterpkatie said (65+/wk) I don't see that working well for me.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Sorry, didn't mean to scare you off. The 65+ hour week for me was on a large (500 cow) dairy and I was the maternity lead (in charge of all dry cows/calving/calves/etc). I'm not sure there are any large dairies (goat dairies) like that near you. In fact, there may not be many goat dairies period. I'd start by calling the ADGA and see if they can give you any information, like possibly names of farms or something. Or you can do a google search on it for your area and just start cold calling people.

 

[sawfish99]

I would start by calling your state's Dept of Agriculture and ask them about operating dairies. If they are large scale operations, the State will know. You can probably at least get a list of dairy names and addresses, if not phone numbers. Then you will know exactly what to look up on the internet.

 

[redtailgal]

I dont want to sound like a kill joy here, but I live in NC and wanted to do the same thing.....work on a goat dairy. I just wanted to learn more about goats, though.

I couldnt find many operating dairys at all in NC. I did find one near me, a really nice lady, but she is VERY VERY particular. Her vet even has to wear booties before coming on her farm, lol.
She has a very tightly closed herd, and just will not hire help unless she is desperate. She is a wonderful lady and is very willing to answer questions, and I communicate with her frequently via email.

I had much more luck with meat goat people, esp those that show. They seem to always be willing to have some offered help.

Either way, it goes, good luck!

 

[marlowmanor]

I dont want to sound like a kill joy here, but I live in NC and wanted to do the same thing.....work on a goat dairy. I just wanted to learn more about goats, though.

I couldnt find many operating dairys at all in NC. I did find one near me, a really nice lady, but she is VERY VERY particular. Her vet even has to wear booties before coming on her farm, lol.
She has a very tightly closed herd, and just will not hire help unless she is desperate. She is a wonderful lady and is very willing to answer questions, and I communicate with her frequently via email.

I had much more luck with meat goat people, esp those that show. They seem to always be willing to have some offered help.

Either way, it goes, good luck!

I wouldn't mind working on a meat goat farm either. My interest in working on a farm is to learn about goats. One day I may get into meat goats if we ever get the agreage for it. Just being around goats on a regular basis and learning from a seasoned goat farmer sounds like a great opportunity to me!

ETA: Changed my title and first post to reflect that I am interested in any goat farm whether dairy or meat.