Meat, milk, soaps, pets: why some Northern Tasmanians love their goats

Steven Baldock, convenor of Goat Fest said the event had been running since 2008 and generally drew more than 1000 people.

While there was something for everyone, he said it was mainly for people who raise goats or are interested in getting started.

"Some of them want to get into goats, they're not sure which breeds to go for," Mr Baldock said.

"So there's plenty of opportunity for them to have a talk and see what the go is."

He said while goat meat and milk was overshadowed by lamb and cows milk, it was slowly becoming popular.

Rebecca De Senna-Clark from Dairy Dreamers is one recent entrant into the goat industry.

Ms De Senna-Clark's family started raising goats one year ago and now have a herd of 35 animals.

They milk the goats and, in their spare time, make soap from the milk with the proceeds from sales going towards feeding their herd.

The family now have their sights set on cheese making.

Ms De Senna-Clark said the family got started because of the benefits goat milk had for their young son's health.

"We have a young son that had serious heart complications. So he's been through three heart surgeries," she said.

She said he needed nutrient-dense foods in order to grow, and goat milk has been "really good" for him.

"He was the reason behind getting the goats and doing what we do," Ms De Senna-Clark said.

Some of her other children are sensitive to cow's milk and goat milk was a great alternative for them.

Ms De Senna-Clark said goat milk in soap also has benefits for people with eczema.

"We've got a lot of people where we sell soap to in the Wynyard markets, and they continuously come back absolutely surprised that their skin is better," she said.

"They don't break out in eczema and they have beautiful skin."

Goats were also becoming more popular as pets, according to Bronwyn Davies from Roland Miniature Goats, near Sheffield.

"Goats are very popular as pets, especially the minis because they're small and manageable," Mrs Davies said.

"I tell people the more time you spend with a goat, the more like a dog they are. They're trainable, very friendly. They've all got their own personalities, just the funniest things."

She said one of the upsides to having a goat is that they also help control weeds on properties, and recommended them as pets for anybody ranging from little kids to older people because they were easy to manage.

"They make a great pet but are more self-sufficient than a dog," Mrs Davies said.