Many people start a meat goat operation with little financial planning. Goats are enjoyable animals. It’s often fun to go on expeditions to buy a few, and they multiply. When the realization hits that you are spending substantial time caring for a few goats and selling surplus kids, it’s awfully tempting to try to justify it by expanding into a commercial operation. Before you do, try to articulate your expectations from this enterprise, and research the feasibility of these expectations. How much money do you hope to make? Enough to contribute to your land taxes or enough to stop work and support yourself on the farm? How do you feel about your own labor? Do you need to justify your labor by paying yourself a wage similar to what you would earn off farm? Or can you justify the labor spent on your animals as being valuable not for money but as a substitute for a workout at a health spa or as an aid to your mental well being?

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