Is goat's milk the next big thing in the infant formula market?

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It's hoped goat's milk will be the next big thing in the infant formula market.

A new $30 million Government programme is looking at ways to grow the goat milk industry.

The Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme launched yesterday has its sights on growing a sustainable, high-value goat milk infant formula industry in New Zealand.

Caprine Innovations NZ (CAPRINZ) is a 5-year, $29.65 million PGP programme between the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Dairy Goat Co-operative (NZ) Ltd.

The end goals include improving the health and well-being of families, delivering a range of benefits such as growing research and farming capability and increasing export revenue across the New Zealand dairy goat milk industry to $400 million per annum by 2023.

Dairy Goat Cooperative chief executive, David Hemara, told Mike Hosking there's huge potential in the market.

"The thing that we need to do it really invest significantly in science and in clinical research to provide the evidence of the positive benefits that goat milk provides in infant formula."

Listen to Mike Hosking's interview with David Hemara below:

The CAPRINZ PGP programme will develop innovative tools to enable all New Zealand goat farmers to measure and improve their performance, while ensuring any economic gains don't come at the expense of the rural environment.

Hemara says there is "huge potential" in goats and the new programme will take the industry to the "next level."