Icelandic Goat Project

Goats were brought from Norway to Iceland during the time of settlement ( 870-930 AD) and have been genetically isolated since then. During the centuries of subsistence farming goats were very important to poor families, providing milk, meat, leather and fiber. The fine underwool, like that of all goats, is cashmere. A millennium of adaptation to the Icelandic subarctic has produced a small, hardy, short legged animal, at home in cold damp climates.

As subsistence farming disappeared the Icelandic goat lost popularity. Numbers fell below 100 animals. Interest within Iceland in preserving this historic and hardy breed has rebuilt the population to about 2000 animals.

Iceland has perhaps the most stringent programs in the world for the control of livestock disease. Nevertheless there is always a risk of a disease outbreak, requiring the destruction of rare and endangered animals.

Beau Chemin Farm has been working with the Iceland goat farmers and genetics scientists to establish a “reserve” flock of Icelandic goats in the US. Sheep and goats cannot be imported from Europe to the US. We import goat semen from Iceland and use artificial insemination to develop increasing percentage Icelandic goats, the only such animals anywhere in the world. Our high percentage Icelandic bucks, born on our farm, provide natural breeding. In 2026, 15 Icelandic kids were born on our farm.

Our plan is to offer breeding stock of these remarkable goats when our herd census expands and we have several lineages represented. We are available to provide information to other livestock farmers and homesteaders about the principles of conservation breeding, available resources, and our experiences working with these breeds.