America is obsessed with dairy goats now


Goats are having their greatest moment of all time — or at least the last 10 years.
Dairy goats, while far from the most popular American livestock out there, saw their populations grow by 61 percent from 2007 to 2017, according to the USDA's newly released 2017 Census of Agriculture. Meanwhile, dairy cows only saw a three percent growth in America, and the goat boom may have something to do with it, analysis from The Washington Post has found.
Across the U.S., the dairy goat population went up from 334,754 animals in 2007 to 537,799 in 2017, per the census. That's largely thanks to the dairy state of Wisconsin, where 47,203 goats joined the herd.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Dairy cows, on the other hoof, haven't fared so well. Their miniscule growth was largely confined to Texas, Michigan, and Idaho, likely reflecting the rise of dairy-free milk alternatives, and how the average American drinks about 12 fewer gallons of milk per year than they did in the 1970s, the Post notes. Meanwhile, llamas, despite their growing appearances on decor at T.J. Maxx stores, saw their ranks drop nearly 70 percent from 2007 to 2017, per the census.
Read more about dairy goats' moment at The Washington Post, or find the whole USDA Census of Agriculture here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Libya's 'curious' football cup, played in Italy to empty stadiums
Under The Radar 'Curious collaboration' saw Al-Ahli Tripoli crowned league champions in Milan before a handful of spectators
-
What taxes do you pay on a home sale?
The Explainer Some people — though not many — will need to pay capital gains taxes upon selling their home
-
Schools: The return of a dreaded fitness test
Feature Donald Trump is bringing the Presidential Fitness Test back to classrooms nationwide
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages