Selling milk on a stick

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — With three ingredients, Stacey Roussel makes a treat consumers in southern Texas are eating up. Goat milk pops have replaced the cheese, butter and yogurt Roussel used to make. Finding a niche in the market has brought success to this former accountant.

“I needed to pick one thing, focus on that, and do it really well,” Roussel said. “My kids eat a lot of ice cream, and someone told me I should think about making that because our milk has high butterfat.”

At the suggestion of a friend, she put the product on a stick.

Located two hours from the nearest processor, Roussel has always focused on value-added products on her farm near Needville, Texas, where she milks 35 Nubian and Lamancha goats. Roussel said she started All We Need Farm in 2007 with four acres and a dream. She began by raising chickens, hogs, fruits and vegetables. Goats were introduced to her farm in 2008 as Christmas presents for her daughters. The two Nubians soon turned into 10 milking goats accompanied by four acres of produce.

“It’s easier to fill a need than it is to convince folks they have one,” Roussel said. “I sold vegetables for a long time, and it’s easier for me to sell ice cream than it was to sell carrots.”

Roussel spoke at the American Dairy Goat Association Convention and Annual Meeting Oct. 24 in Lake Geneva. During her presentation entitled, “Dairy Decisions: From Dreams to Profitability,” Roussel explained how she got to where she is today and shared strategies for success.

Roussel uses all the milk from her herd to make award-winning goat milk popsicles, which have won accolades such as Best Bites at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The artisanal pops are handmade on-farm, with Roussel and her husband, Jay, receiving help from two college interns and seven part-time staff.

Made from goat milk, real cane sugar and natural flavoring, the popsicles are available in 40 flavors ranging from strawberry, chocolate and vanilla to cookies and cream, avocado and cajeta.

The popsicles are distributed through 31 freezers in retail locations across Texas. These include mom-and-pop shops, health food stores, local restaurants, parks, a chocolate shop and other farmers who agree to put Roussel’s freezer in their shop.

“I self-distribute to them every week,” she said. “I’m running popsicles all over south Texas — from La Grange, which is south of Austin, all the way to the south of Houston.”

Roussel also sells her product at a Houston, Texas, farmers market. She initially sold her popsicles for $4 each. Now, she charges $5.

“Twenty-five percent of your customers should say your price is too high,” Roussel said. “If you don’t have at least one person walk away at the farmers market because your price is too high, then your price is too low. Not everyone is your customer.”

Roussel said access to market is critical to consider when starting a business.

“We’re less than an hour from Houston, which is the fourth largest city in the U.S.,” Roussel said. “I also tell people to think about what they can make that their customer cannot buy at the local grocery store or from another vendor. What is worth them waking up early on a Saturday morning and driving to see you at a farmers’ market?”

Roussel lists her assets in what she calls an asset circle. Roussel said to think of assets in a broader sense, beyond a tractor or barn, and to take an inventory of assets.

“When you see all your assets in a circle it’s easier for you to get a roadmap in your head,” she said. “I try to go back every year and redo the circle. Put it in a place where you can see it every day. When I’m having a bad day, sometimes just looking at that circle helps. I might say, I should call so and so because they can help me with the problem I have.”

Examples of things Roussel considers assets include existing infrastructure, mentors, existing genetics, institutions like extension or universities, a well-stocked feed store, a trusted source for hay, a good vet, land, Wi-Fi and money in the bank.

“You probably have more assets than you think,” she said. “We often think in terms of what we’re missing, and it can be overwhelming.”

Roussel said sizing is a big factor when setting up a dairy.

“I’ve seen a lot of people mis-sized either on their herd size or their equipment size,” she said. “‘You gotta be big’ is an easy trap to fall into, but every goat you add is more feet to trim, more hay to put out, more work to do. Knowing your market and what it can sustain is important.”

Matching herd size and equipment size to the market is the key to success, Roussel said.

“If you go all in with equipment, and your herd matches the market, but your equipment doesn’t, that’s a recipe for failure,” she said. “You can either end up dumping milk or missing sales.”

Roussel said she started at a higher herd size than needed.

“I’m constantly trying to reduce my numbers so my costs are lower, and I can pay off more things,” she said. “Managing our herd to be smaller is the way I found I’m most successful.”

Roussel tries to keep her milking herd under 50 goats.

“I would rather miss sales every day than dump milk,” she said. “Missing sales creates demand — people want it more when they can’t get what you have. Dumping milk ruins your bank account.”

When discussing storage, Roussel said she went from having freezers plugged into every outlet on her dairy to now having a walk-in freezer. She said the $20,000 investment was a game-changer.

“Popsicles are organized by flavor, and it’s such a time saver,” Roussel said. “It was worth it to improve the productivity of our week, how my kitchen works and overall efficiency.”

Roussel said increasing revenue without incurring significant costs is a method for scaling a business.

“I have a friend who is making lemonade from the whey of their cheese,” she said. “That’s a good way to scale your business — taking a waste product and making a revenue stream.”

Roussel is 10 years into making goat milk popsicles and said she is happy she put her ambitions into this product.

“There are a lot of beautiful things we can do with our milk,” Roussel said. “You have to think outside the box. The key is being flexible and not being too tied to your idea.”