Worth the hard work for more goat happiness

Seven functions and only 24 hours in a day

Van de Mast is not making it easy on himself by processing the milk himself. The advantage is that you can add value and therefore ask better prices for your product. But it also means that, in addition to being a farmer, you are also a cheese maker, representative, distributor, accountant, marketer and retailer. Combining all those roles requires careful planning and a willingness to work long hours. "When I go and look at the animals and see how well they are doing, I know what I am doing it for. So we are farmers first and foremost; we get the greatest pleasure from the animals. But it is also great fun to think up new products and to make people enthusiastic about goat dairy and goat meat. Because we do it this way, all our goats, including the kids, can live a good life. Goat meat is still little known to Dutch consumers and you really have to get them used to it. But it is important, because half of the lambs are of course bucks. If we don't want to eat that meat, it will be destroyed or become a residual product, at best good for cattle feed. A billy goat then has a very short life. But it is quality meat, which can be used to make delicious stews. I also explain that to vegetarians who only come for goat cheese."

"When I go to see the animals, I know what I'm doing it for."

Circulating agriculture and animal welfare

Goat Happiness puts circular agriculture into practice. "When you make cheese, there is a lot of whey left over, so it was obvious that we would also keep a few pigs to whom we could feed the whey as a nutritious by-product. Furthermore, we grow corn and fodder beet and there is one and a half hectare of herb-rich grass with 18 different herbs. Goats are very picky and like herbs more than grass. We want to take care of the feed ourselves and that nothing is wasted. Of course this doesn't always work, because when the corona crisis started, everything came to a standstill. Then suddenly you have a lot of goat's milk and you know that there will not be enough demand for our dairy products in the coming period. Then you sometimes have to do a lot of puzzling to get everything processed and marketed. The small-scale approach also means more attention to care. "At large farms you are more likely to overlook small wounds as a farmer, with the risk that it will get infected and complications occur. We know every animal and therefore spot problems more quickly. We have very few sick animals and can practically do without antibiotics. Furthermore, we want the goats to be able to exhibit their natural behavior as much as possible. The goats keep their horns and are given between 5 and 8 square meters of space in the stable and even more outside. We let the lambs walk with their mothers. Of course that costs milk, but in the end we see this reflected in the fitness and vitality of the lambs. That suits us and our concept."

Taste first

The purification process began with hard goat cheese, as this is a longer shelf life product and, of course, sales do not parallel inventory from day one. But Van de Mast soon began experimenting: from hard cheese to soft cheese, from yogurt to cottage cheese. And it is precisely that cottage cheese that is now Goat Luck's best running product. "In October 2018, we even received the Cum Laude Award (an award from the Association of Farm Dairy Preparers for the tastiest dairy products, ed.)for our quark. Consumers can buy the jars of quark with a layer of fruit jelly in various flavors, such as blueberry and honey fig. We also like to give our hard cheeses an extra flavor component with all kinds of herb combinations such as honey clover, fenugreek or pepper-basil. In the end, you can have such a good story, the taste remains by far the most important factor. That's why we also like to let people taste something at markets and in our stores." In addition to the dairy, our own goat meat is available in all kinds of varieties, for example as saucisses, stewed meat or dried sausage. Gradually, goat meat is gaining more and more acceptance. This is partly thanks to Goatober, a campaign by various parties in the sector to promote goat meat.

Goat Luck's cheeses come in a variety of flavors

Balancing

Farm stores are by far the most important sales channel for Geitengeluk, accounting for about 60% of sales. In addition, various restaurants sell their products and Van de Mast himself attends a weekly German market. The farm store is also open every Saturday. A webshop is still in the making, as working with order lists by e-mail is obviously not the most efficient way of working. Van de Mast: "I really misjudged this. I wanted to set it up entirely by myself, because I have exactly what kind of texts should go with the products. But with such a busy working week, it's not really possible to do that and it takes too long. We also do all our own delivery and distribution. We do want to outsource that if the sales continue to grow and we start keeping more goats." It illustrates how much balancing act it is for the young entrepreneur now that the growth is in. Producing dairy, packaging, delivering and selling it...not to mention looking after the animals, it's all in all a lot of work. "Fortunately, we do have a lot of fun with it and we're young, so we can take a bit."

"You can have such a good story, taste is still the most important factor."

Share the story

Van de Mast's enthusiasm and conviction is contagious. Publicity in the tv-program BinnensteBuiten has generated a remarkable amount of enthusiasm among consumers for the Goat Luck products. In addition, Van de Mast actively uses social media to share their story. "It gives you the opportunity to showcase your unique approach and tell people more than they see at first glance. We notice that this transparent approach works well and is very much appreciated. Of course, you then have to be able to stand behind your own approach. I know that our goats have had a pleasant life. No hunger, no cold, good muscle development and for the kids a much longer life than usual: 6 to 10 months instead of 1 week. So yes, I am actually very proud of that!"

Entrepreneurial tips from Van de Mast

After 2 years in business, Van de Mast looks back on an instructive time. Her tips for other agri-food entrepreneurs, especially if you are considering self-farming:

1. Let an expert help you find financing. "We have had a lot of help from FONZ and really couldn't have done it on our own."
2. Destimate the required investments rather too broad than too tight, so you have room to grow.
3. Think seriously about how to operate efficiently right from the start. Only then can you scale up smoothly and achieve healthy margins.
4. Be proud of your product and don't be afraid to charge a good price. You don't have to measure up to the factory!"