As farmers seek alternative enterprises to boost falling incomes, interest is focussed on sheep and goat farming. In recent years the number of sheep and goat dairy units in the United Kingdom has increased. There are now 20-30 sheep milking units accounting for around 6000 ewes and about 150 commercial goat dairy units milking a total of over 12000 goats, with many more part-time units milking small numbers of goats.

The recent increase in the demand for speciality cheese and yoghurt has created good market outlets for sheep and goat milk and milk products. The small size of the animals and the facilities required for them means much less start-up capital is required than for many other livestock systems. It also means the units can be operated by female family labour. The current growth of the industry also means sale of female replacers can make a significant contribution to the income. There is already a well established sheep industry in the UK and milking can be seen as an extension of this.