{"id":27575,"date":"2016-06-14T15:19:30","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T19:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=27575"},"modified":"2016-08-02T13:40:50","modified_gmt":"2016-08-02T17:40:50","slug":"saanen-goats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/saanen-goats\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Animal: Saanen Goats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originating in and named after the Saanen Valley, south of Canton Berne, Switzerland, Saanen (pronounced sah-nin<\/em>) goats spread across Europe in the 19th century. The animals were first brought to the United States in 1904 and have become one of the country\u2019s most prized breeds. The North American Pack Goat Association<\/a>, an industry group with 70 members, reports that of the 400 goats owned by its constituents, the majority are Saanen, Alpine<\/a>, or their respective crossbreeds. Saanens can also be found in parts of Australia and Canada. Their popularity is most likely due to their easygoing demeanor; the ruminants are often referred to as \u201cliving marshmallows.\u201d And while the goats\u2019 good looks often land them in show rings, their high milk-producing capabilities also make them a top choice for many dairy farmers.<\/p>\n

Appearance and Temperament<\/h3>\n

\u201cMy Saanens are sweet-natured and have easygoing personalities,\u201d says Judy Schad, cheesemaker and co-owner of Capriole Goat Cheese<\/a> in Greenville, Ind. \u201cThey are very calm—from personality to production, [Saanens] are easy to work with.\u201d Adds Jennifer Lynn Bice, CEO and president of Redwood Hill Farm<\/a> and Green Valley Organics<\/a> in Sebastopol, Calif.: \u201cThey\u2019re gentle giants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gentle giants indeed—Saanens are the largest dairy goat breed in the world, averaging 32 inches in height and 150 pounds in weight (typically 145 pounds for does and 160 pounds for bucks). Their blazing white coats feature short, fine hair, making them more susceptible to sunburn than other breeds. Consequently, Saanens thrive in cooler regions. The goats also have high, pointed ears and wedge-shaped bodies; their shoulders are narrower than their hips. <\/p>\n

Milk and Cheese<\/h3>\n

When it comes to mealtime, this breed can be picky. \u201cSaanens are the most particular eaters of all our breeds,\u201d says Schad. \u201cLike most goats, they are browsers, not grazers, and don\u2019t want to eat off the ground unless they have to.\u201d Because of this, many Saanen dairy farms utilize green chop feeding, a process in which pastures are machine-harvested, then fed to livestock.<\/p>\n

Yet this extra care in feeding comes with rewards. Often referred to as \u201cthe Holsteins of dairy goats,\u201d Schad says, Saanens have a high milk yield—one of the highest, in fact, with some does producing up to 5,000 pounds each year (the annual breed average is about 2,000 pounds). With a butterfat content that hovers between three and four percent, the milk isn\u2019t overly rich, and its small fat molecules make it easy to digest.<\/p>\n

Saanen milk can be used to craft any number of cheeses, including the tangy cheddar<\/a> and creamy yogurt at Redwood Hill Farm, as well as the buttery tommes<\/a> and ash-dusted rounds<\/a> at Capriole Goat Cheese. For Bice and Schad, it was the breed\u2019s sweet disposition that won them over—and a generous milk output doesn\u2019t hurt, either.<\/p>\n

Feature Photo Credit: Baronb<\/a> | Shutterstock<\/a><\/em><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These sweet-natured caprines’ high milk yield makes them a favorite for dairy farmers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":28153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"coauthors":[819],"class_list":["post-27575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-animal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFarm Animal: Saanen Goats - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/saanen-goats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Farm Animal: Saanen Goats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"These sweet-natured caprines' high milk yield makes them a favorite for dairy farmers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/saanen-goats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"culture: the word on cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-14T19:19:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-08-02T17:40:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/SaanenGoat_ftr-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"368\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marissa Donovan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marissa Donovan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/saanen-goats\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/saanen-goats\/\",\"name\":\"Farm Animal: Saanen Goats - 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