Goat breeder sees opportunities

By 
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Published: October 28, 1999

DAUPHIN, Man. – Leading the way into her back yard, Sandy Larocque points out a weathered shed, an outdoor pen and a plot of lawn.

The shed will house her Alpine goats this winter, once she gets them moved from her former home at Dufresne, Man.

The pen will become the goats’ new quarters after winter departs. And the plot of lawn will one day hold the new shed Larocque plans to build for her livestock.

The project is a small part of Larocque’s larger ambitions for Western Canada’s goat industry.

Read Also

Spencer Harris (green shirt) speaks with attendees at the Nutrien Ag Solutions crop plots at Ag in Motion on July 16, 2025. Photo: Greg Berg

Interest in biological crop inputs continues to grow

It was only a few years ago that interest in alternative methods such as biologicals to boost a crop’s nutrient…

She and a dozen other goat breeders last month shipped 113 Alpine dairy goats to Monterrey, Mexico. Larocque sees the shipment as a milestone for the Prairie’s goat industry and a starting point for further exports into Latin America.

“We shipped down really good, good stock,” said Larocque, a long-time breeder of Alpine goats.

“The people down there are really impressed with them.”

Larocque believes the opportunity to export goats into Mexico and other Latin American countries is vast. She now wants to develop a portfolio of western Canadian goat herds to gauge the quality and number of goats available for export.

Only breeders with registered animals will be included in the portfolio, Larocque said.

Records important

Dairy animals will require milk records and Larocque encourages breeders to include classification scores and any other records they may have.

“I’m hoping to develop a good portfolio that is a true depiction of the quality of animals we have in Manitoba and Western Canada.”

She said Mexican farmers want to expand the size of their goat herds and are keen to improve the quality of their animals, both for meat and dairy purposes.

Last month’s shipment went to a Mexican farm for orphaned boys and boys in trouble with the law.

The farm will eventually host a goat dairy with a herd of 200 does. The boys will milk the does and produce a popular Mexican candy.

Larocque said the bucks will be sold to the Mexican government for placement on farms that will use them as breeders to improve milk production.

She said it took eight months to gather the paperwork and the animals. The greatest challenge, she said, was assembling 113 Alpine dairy goats from across Western Canada.

“It was very difficult to put that number together.”

Larocque’s experience with goats dates back 25 years when she accompanied a friend on a visit to a farm with Alpine goats.

She was inspired to buy two does from the farm and soon found herself hooked on raising Alpines.

Although she has owned as many as 125 Alpine goats, she is now down to four does. Most of her herd was included with last month’s Mexican shipment.

“I was disappointed because I was just building my herd up,” she said.

“But a sale is a sale and next year I’ll have kids again.”

About the author

Ian Bell

Brandon bureau

explore

Stories from our other publications