Meet the Herd
Johnson's Generations Century Farm
Lanesboro, MN
A Minnesota Century Farm with six generations of livestock farmers, farming the same land since 1873, raising goats since 2017. Nigerian Dwarf focused!
Located in Fountain, MN (southeast Minnesota)
A family-owned micro-dairy farm offering fresh milk and cream and dairy goat breeding stock. We have been raising goats since 2008.
What Breeds Do We Raise?
NIGERIAN DWARF
Developed in the United States, it is the only registered miniature breed. They produce a proportionate quantity of milk with high butterfat.
LAMANCHA
Any color or color combination, the distinctive feature of the LaMancha is very short ears. This breed was developed in the United States and is known for its calm nature.
RECORDED GRADE
Recorded Grade is a classification for standard-size dairy goats whose ancestry is not fully documented or who are crosses of different breeds, provided they conform to a specific breed standard.
What do we like about goats?
Almost everything! I love that goats have unique personalities. I often compare them to dogs in their companionship and (sometimes) their intelligence.
When we got goats for the first time, I fell in love before we even went to pick them up. My biggest interest in life are goats, my best moment involves goats, my happiest memories, you guessed it - they're with goats. My hobbies are goat chores, showing goats, clipping goat hooves, excitedly planning goat things, and making goat milk soap. I have very few things in life that aren't goat related!
What kind of setup do we use?
We have a dual-milking machine in a parlor. We mostly dam-raise kids, depending on the what the dam and kids need.
How much milk do we get and what do we do with all of it?
Ours current does in lactation produce about three and a half gallons per day.
With our goat milk, we make soap, cajeta caramel sauce, ice cream, and cheese.
Other fun facts about us:
I am a junior in college, heading to the University of Minnesota this fall, majoring in Animal Science in hopes of entering the agriculture, animal research, or veterinary fields.
When we bought our first two registered Nigerian Dwarves, we had no idea what we were getting into. Years later, we still have one of them, and I can certainly say we made the right choice! We have raised well over 100 goats on our farm in the time since, of all different breeds!
