Meat goats (pasture and browse)
What it earns, what it costs and what it asks of your week.
Every figure on this page is the template's own, an extension estimate and not a measurement of any farm. Your own hours and harvests calibrate it once you log them.
Where the numbers come from
- TN · University of Tennessee Extension, Center for Profitable Agriculture, Budget Considerations for Various Herd Sizes of Meat Goat Enterprises in Tennessee (PB1793), 2010 primary
- KY · University of Kentucky, Department of Agricultural Economics, Meat Goat Enterprise Budgets (Meyer, Hutchens), 2003
- IN · Purdue Extension, Small-Scale Livestock Enterprises: Goat Enterprise Budget (EC-803-W), 2016
- US · NCAT / ATTRA, Meat Goats: Sustainable Production (IP200), 2006
- TN · USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Market News, Columbia Graded Sheep and Goat Sale, Columbia, TN (AMS_2081), 2026
Figured at 50 does, the size of operation the primary source describes. Full production from the first season.
Hours by week
50 does of Meat goats (pasture and browse) in 2026, week by week. The dashed line is 40 hours, one person's week. The busiest week holds 21 h (Mar 30 to Apr 5).
Weeks that cannot move
Biology or a booking sets these; nothing can reschedule them.
- Daily check, water and fence: all year
- Feed hay: Dec 29 to Apr 5, Nov 30 to Jan 3
- Kidding (pasture): Mar 9 to May 3
Where it lands on a mixed farm
Each pair of templates is run together on a made-up farm of one person at 40 hours, the way Farm Draft runs a plan. A week is listed when the scheduler finds work that cannot move, at least 8 hours from each, adding up to more than 40. The weeks are computed, not written: change a template and they change.
No other built-in template puts 8 hours of fixed work in a week this one does, enough to pass 40 hours with it, at the sizes their sources describe.
Not checked, because their sources state no size of operation: Cut flowers (bunches, direct), Hair sheep (pasture lambs), Pastured feeder pigs (whole and half hogs), Stocker cattle (summer grazing).
Tasks
| Task | Hours fixed | Hours per doe | When | Rigidity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily check, water and fence | 0.2 h | 0.002 h a doe | daily, Jan 1 to Dec 31 | Fixed |
| Kidding (pasture) | 0.5 h | 0.025 h a doe | daily, Mar 15 to May 1 | Fixed |
| FAMACHA and deworm as needed | 0.5 h | 0.067 h a doe | every 21 days, May 1 to Oct 15 | Flexible, 4 days |
| Hoof trimming | 0.5 h | 0.083 h a doe | every 90 days, Jan 1 to Dec 31 | Floating |
| Move to fresh pasture or browse | 0.5 h | 0.005 h a doe | weekly, Apr 1 to Nov 30 | Flexible, 3 days |
| Feed hay | 0.25 h | 0.003 h a doe | daily, Dec 1 to Mar 31 | Fixed |
| Buck in, breeding | 1 h | — | weekly, Oct 15 to Dec 1 | Flexible, 7 days |
| Sort, haul and sell kids | 3 h | 0.05 h a doe | once, Aug 15 to Sep 30 | Flexible, 14 days |
| Second kid sale | 3 h | 0.03 h a doe | once, Oct 15 to Nov 30 | Flexible, 14 days |
Costs
| Line | Amount | Schedule F |
|---|---|---|
| Hay (0.25 t at $150) | $37.50 a doe | Feed |
| Goat mineral ($6/yr) | $0.12 a doe | Feed |
| Dewormer (3x), CD/T, supplies | $15.00 a doe | Veterinary, breeding, medicine |
| Clover seed, lime and fertilizer | $25.00 a doe | Fertilizer and lime |
| Livestock guardian dog share ($15/yr) | $0.29 a doe | Veterinary, breeding, medicine |
| Buck replacement share | $12.00 a doe | Livestock purchased |
| Water (682 gal/doe/yr, $5) | $0.10 a doe | Utilities |
| Commission and hauling | $12.00 a doe | Marketing |
Revenue
| Line | Price | Yield | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kids (1.4 per doe at 62 lb) | $3.20 a lb | 86.8 lbs a doe | 1 lb a lb |
| Cull does | $1.50 a lb | 10.4 lbs a doe | 1 lb a lb |
Farm Draft records the tax category of each line and leaves the choice of treatment to your CPA.
Run it on your own farm
Add Meat goats (pasture and browse) next to the rest of what you grow and raise. Farm Draft puts every enterprise in one weekly calendar against the hours you actually have and names the week they collide.
The other templates
- Beef cow-calf
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cut flowers (bunches, direct)
- Hair sheep (pasture lambs)
- Hay (tall fescue, custom baled)
- Honeybees
- Laying hens
- Market garden (mixed vegetables)
- Orchard (apple and pear, semi-dwarf)
- Pastured broilers
- Pastured feeder pigs (whole and half hogs)
- Pick-your-own and event days
- Raspberries
- Stocker cattle (summer grazing)