Nebraska Goat Farm Finds Success

By Scout Nelson

A family-owned goat farm in Nebraska is finding new opportunities for growth thanks to support from Nebraska Extension. After flooding damaged their honey business in 2010, the mother-daughter team of Gayle Duda and Ruth Wood began searching for another way to use their farm located north of Omaha. They chose goat farming as a natural method to control invasive honeysuckles while also creating a new source of income.

Although raising goats proved successful, marketing meat became a major obstacle. The family sold products through regional markets and auctions, but they wanted to establish stronger connections with customers closer to home. Their search for solutions led them to Ben Jewell, Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension Educator and Team Lead for the Nebraska Regional Food Systems Initiative.

Jewell worked closely with the family to understand their business goals and identify marketing opportunities. After conducting extensive research, he developed a detailed marketing plan that helped the farm discover potential customers in the Omaha area.

“When he said he’d help with some marketing, I expected it to be really basic stuff you would get in, like an intro to marketing class,” Wood said. “Instead, he returned to us with this incredible marketing plan that was so thorough and well thought out. It introduced us to a new way of thinking about how to get meat to the people of Omaha.”

The plan included contacts for wholesalers, processors, and halal butchers who serve customers that regularly purchase goat meat for religious and holiday celebrations. This information helped the family identify a market segment they had not previously considered.

“Ben had done the research for us that we were not able to do for ourselves,” Wood said. “It sounds pretty simple, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The daily chores never stop, and so when it’s time to call every butcher in Omaha and see which is familiar with goats, Ben had already done that.”

Jewell also provided important information about seasonal demand and holiday schedules, allowing the farm to adjust breeding plans to meet market needs.

“The challenges they were facing, branching into a new area of farming, is a common experience for new entrepreneurs,” Jewell said. “But in the area they were selling in, they’ve got pretty good name recognition. They’re a family-run business, so they’ve got a great story. People love to connect with their local producers and know their story.”

The farm owners appreciated Jewell’s agricultural knowledge and industry connections, which helped them access valuable resources and expert guidance.

“Working with Ben simplified where I thought we were going,” Duda said. “I thought we were going toward more of a mail order business. But in working with Ben, we realized there are so many marketing opportunities in our very own city. The opportunity to be profitable is much greater with the marketing plan that Ben laid out.”

Jewell believes many small producers face similar challenges when trying to identify new markets.

“One of the things I find with a lot of small producers is they just don’t have time to research potential buyers for their products,” Jewell said. “Or they’re thinking about a new market, but they don’t have the finances to vet these people and figure out what it would take to sell to them. So if I can do some of that for them, I think that really gives them a boost.”

“Ben gave us the confidence that this is attainable,” Wood said. “If we do the work and we do the outreach, it is possible that we could start supplying meat like we always dreamed.”

You can also contact Ben Jewell, Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension Educator and Team Lead for the Nebraska Regional Food Systems Initiative, at bmcshane-jewell2@unl.edu.

Photo Credit: pexels-pavel-bondarenko