A RIBBLE Valley auction is proving a hit with goat farmers since it started selling the animals again after a six year gap.
Buyers and sellers from across the north of England flocked to Clitheroe Auction, Lincoln Way, Clitheroe, today, as 30 goats went under the hammer.
The sale was prompted by the lack of auction marts in the north who are prepared to sell goats.
The nearest auctions are in York and Chelford, Cheshire, a long slog for anyone from East Lancashire who wishes to capitalise on the growing popularity of goat farming.
Rose Dinsdale, sales supervisor at Clitheroe, said that goats were sold at the auction's Wednesday night sale before the foot and mouth crisis of 2001, a practise that became unfeasible after the outbreak due to increased red-tape.
She added: "There is a lot of interest from hobby farmers who want to keep a few goats as more of a pet.
"There is an increasing number of people milking them and setting up commercial herds.
"We wanted to see if there was the demand from buyers and even though it's early days there seems to be interest in it.
"People are coming down from Glasgow to the sale because there are no markets in Cumbria or Scotland that are offering goats like this."
Goat cheese and milk has become increasingly popular in recent years as producers have cashed in on the demand for food which can be traced back to the farm gate.
Two of the sellers at today's sale said the increased demand for traceability of the product was something they were willing to exploit, especially as they made cheese on the farm.
Stephen Akrigg, 59, of Carleton, North Yorkshire, was at the sale with son Jonathan, 18, selling billy and nanny goats from his 150-head herd. He praised the auction for starting the sales.
He said: "The popularity of goats milk and cheese is growing and it's a process we can see from start to finish.
"Sales like this are good because it gives us the chance to sell to other farmers like ourselves or hobby farmers."
The sale saw some goats make over £30-a-piece, with younger kids going for £20 and over.
Kate Little, 33, Grange-Over-Sands, Cumbria, sold around 20 goats at the sale and has only recently started milking the animals after spending eight years as a journalist living in Somerset.
She said: "I am a farmer's daughter and wanted to start writing about farming but ended up saying I wanted to do it for myself.
"Goats are really fashionable and it's nice to come down here and see others who are doing something different. "
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