Goats and their products touted at show in Des Moines

Iowa is the center of the goat universe for this week with a show on the grounds of the Iowa State Fair. Tom Swale of the Iowa Dairy Goat Association, a spokesman for the event, says it’s the biggest goat show in the country and they have some 2,000 goats registered and some 350 exhibitors. Swale says cheese is the main product made from goats milk, but there are other uses as well. He says goat meat is sold in health food stores and goat’s milk is used by people who’re lactose intolerant and can’t drink cows milk. Swale says the dairy goat industry is growing as goats have several advantages over cows. He says you can put seven-and-a-half goats on the same acreage you need for one Holstein cow, and get the same amount of milk. He says the goat industry is not subsidized by the government. Swale says the goal now is to grow the market demand for goats milk. He says that’s taking some time. He says there is some canned and powdered goats milk on the shelf, but he says it won’t be on the shelf next to cows milk until the demand increases. Swale says the show is open to the public. He says there will be vendors with goat products. Swale says goats are a “sociable animal”, and a lot of people like to come out just to see the goats. The show is free.