Studying and Promoting Extended Lactation on

Vermont Goat Dairy Farms: Final Report
July 2024

Hannah Sessions, Blue Ledge Farm
Holly Menguc, Tups Crossing Farm

With the hopes of helping establish a more sustainable, humane and profitable form of goat
dairy in the region we set about studying the effects of “extended” (longer than 12 months)
lactation in dairy goats. The hope is to achieve less labor, cost and risk for farmers, less stress
for the goats, and a more constant supply of quality milk year round.
We represent two diverse sectors of the goat dairy industry in Vermont: a value added operation
and a commodity milk operation, with herd sizes of 175 and 450 respectively. Our goal was to
explore the potential benefits of extended lactation on goat farms of all sizes.

Please see our Final Report HERE.