Milk Math

Fresh milk is high in nutrients and you have the advantage of knowing what the animal that produced it ate. But will it cost a fortune to get a gallon of fresh milk, or is the price not so different from what you are already paying?

Owning the goats is a cost. However, they can work for part of their feed during milk season.

Depending on the goat breed, you could get anywhere from 1/2 - 1 gallon of milk per day in the peak of milking season. You can expect 1/4-1/2 gallon of milk on the slower days. The goat will need grain (1lb per day of sweet feed) and you may want to give them extra feed (treats, alfalfa, and/or oats). 50lbs of Sweet Feed cost $10-$15, making one bag last 50 days for one milking goat. You also need udder cleaner.

Allotting for spilled feed and low milk, you could get 10 gallons of milk for $15-$20.  Store bought cow's milk is sold for $3-$5 a gallon. 10 gallons of store-bought would cost $30-$50.

I can't guarantee this for everywhere, but around here people go crazy for goat's milk. They offer me anywhere from $5-$10 for a gallon of goat's milk. I've even been offered $10 for a pint of goat's milk!

Cheese:
A cheese culture is $7 and will turn 10 gallons of milk into 10lbs of hard cheese (and about 10lbs of ricotta cheese). Store-bought cheese is at least $4 a pound, that's $40 just for the cheese. Ricotta is another $4 a pound. So, to make your own cheese (after you get the kit for the first time) it will cost about $30 for 10lbs of cheese and 10lbs of Ricotta. Compared to $80, for the same amount of cheese, from the store.

Yogurt:
You can culture homemade yogurt with a container of store-bought yogurt or a yogurt culture. The breed of goat plays a part in the amount of yogurt you can get from each gallon. However, one pint of milk can make a few cups of yogurt. This dairy product may be even with the store-bought verity (costs) depending on how you flavor the yogurt. 

These don't include the cost of buildings and other supplies to keep your goats as pets. This is just to show that for a few months each year, the goats pay for themselves. You can also off-set costs by growing your own feed and hay or selling the baby goats.