Our goat program began with Nigerian Dwarf goats, a small dairy breed that has served our farm well for milk, soap, land management, and meat production. On our farm, they have filled a dual role: providing dairy for our programs while also proving valuable in the kitchen. 

The challenge is scale. Nigerian Dwarf meat is excellent, but the animals remain small and slow-growing, making them difficult to raise sustainably as a meat animal. The yield does not support the long-term model we want for the farm. 

We are now working toward a transition into Arapawa goats, a critically rare heritage breed we believe will better fit the future of our goat program. Arapawas are still small-framed and slow-growing, but they offer more size, conservation value, browsing ability, and a stronger foundation for a meat-and-milk program rooted in small-farm production.

Nigerian Dwarf goats have been a practical starting point for our goat program. Their dairy value helped establish our soap and homestead production, while their meat showed us how good small-framed goat can be. 

Arapawa goats represent the next step for us. With roots on Arapawa Island in New Zealand, they are among the rarest heritage goats in the world. Because the population is so limited, this transition is not as simple as buying available animals. We are working with a conservation-focused breeder to build a carefully matched starter group when the right animals and genetics become available. 

That slower path matters. We are not collecting rare animals for novelty; we are building toward a goat program that supports breed preservation, land management, milk, soap, and heritage goat meat in a way that fits the farm long term.

Land Management

Goats bring a different kind of pressure to the land than sheep or cattle. They are natural browsers, making them especially useful in woodland pasture, brushy edges, and areas where woody growth and weeds need steady management. 

On our farm, goats help with brush clearing, weed suppression, and the ongoing maintenance of woodland pastures. Used alongside grazing-driven animals, they add another layer to our rotational system: browsing higher, working rougher edges, and helping keep mixed pasture and woodlot areas more usable over time.

Northern Michigan Hardiness

Goats require more attentive shelter management than some of our other livestock, especially in cold, wet, and windy weather. In Northern Michigan, that means practical shelter, dry bedding, secure fencing, and close observation. 

Arapawa goats are known for hardiness and adaptability, but they are still goats. Good management will remain part of the system, especially through winter weather and seasonal transitions.

The Slower Growth Curve

Both Nigerian Dwarf and Arapawa goats are small-framed, slower-growing animals. That suits the kind of livestock we prefer: animals that fit the land, grow at a natural pace, and support a small-farm system rather than a high-input commodity model. 

The difference is balance. Nigerian Dwarf goats produce excellent meat, but their size makes meat production expensive relative to yield. Arapawa goats are not dedicated meat goats either—we do not expect them to perform like a commercial meat breed—but they offer a better fit for our goals: slightly more size, a stronger meat-and-milk role, serious conservation value, and a growth curve that supports specialty rather than commodity meat.

Premium Goat Meat

Goat meat is one of the most underrated meats we produce, and the demand is already there. Even with the high cost of raising Nigerian Dwarf goats for meat, our goat sells quickly at market. On many market days, we sell more ground goat than ground beef. 

The challenge is not convincing people that goat meat is worth eating; the challenge is producing it at a scale and cost that lets it become a reliable staple rather than an occasional novelty. Nigerian Dwarf goats have shown us the quality is there: clean, tender, mild meat from small-framed animals raised slowly on our farm. 

As we move toward Arapawa goats, our goal is to preserve that quality while building a better long-term model. Arapawas are still small-framed and slow-growing, so this will never be commodity meat. But with more size, rare-breed conservation value, and a better fit for meat, milk, and browsing, they should help us bring excellent goat meat to market more consistently.

A Note on Preparation

Goat meat should be prepared according to the cut. Tender cuts can be cooked simply and quickly with dry heat, while working cuts benefit from braising, roasting, stewing, or other slower methods that allow the meat to become tender.

Good goat meat is clean and mild, and it does not need heavy treatment to be enjoyable. Simple seasoning, appropriate cooking time, and respect for the cut are usually enough. Goat is not difficult meat; it is just unfamiliar to many American kitchens.

Milk & Soap

Milk remains an important part of the goat story at Wanderwood. Nigerian Dwarf goats helped establish that part of the program, and Arapawa goats should allow us to continue valuing milk alongside meat and browsing.

Soap turns that milk into a practical value-added farm product. Like our other livestock, the goal is whole-animal and whole-farm usefulness: food, land work, conservation, and products that reflect what our acreage can sustain.