The Oberhasli goat is a vigorous breed of domestic goat,  bred primarily for its milk. On average, the Oberhasli produces around 880-2000 pounds per year. The fat content in the milk is slightly higher than that of cow's milk.

The goat was domesticated around 9000 years ago. The history of the Oberhasli has been traced to Switzerland to a goat called "Swiss Alpine". Today's Oberhaslis can be traced back to four does and one buck imported in 1 936 by Dr. H.O. Pence of Kansas City, Missouri. Three of the four does had been bred to different bucks while still in Switzerland. At that time, Oberhaslis were incorrectly called 'Swiss Alpine", and were registered in the Alpine herdbooks as such.

Only the purebred descendants were registered as Swiss Alpines, while the crossbreeds were registered under the name "American Alpine". Because of this, much of the Oberhasli gene pool was lost. In 1941, Dr. Pence sold his 'Swiss Alpines' in two divided groups. One of the groups was eventually lost in the 1950's while the other ended up in California, owned by Esther Oman. For the next thirty years she was almost the only breeder preserving the Swiss Alpine in the United States.

 The pedigree of almost every Oberhasli can be traced to Mrs. Oman's goats with the Patterswiss or Play Fair herd names. What began with these few animals and only a handful of breeders, grew into todays Oberhasli Breeders of America (OBA). Thanks to the efforts of dedicated people like Esther Oman, along with others like Judy Stuckey and Lib Zabriskie, the official name "Oberhasli" was accepted by the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA).

The Oberhasli was given its own herdbook in 1980 and included all Swiss Alpine goats in this country. The numbers of Oberhasli goats worldwide are not large. They are bred for "quality" not "quantity". Their future as a separate, unique breed depends on their purity.

Due to the small numbers of Oberhasli goats, it is considered a minor breed of domestic animal and could be in danger of extinction. The American Minor Breeds Conservancy is an organization dedicated to saving those rare breeds of livestock. The Oberhasli's status is listed as RARE under this organization. RARE means that there are fewer than 1000 North American registrations annually, and estimated fewer than 5000 globally.

As agricultural practices change to meet the increasing demands of the future, the genetic diversity and voluble qualities of the older breeds become more and more important.

Infomation courtesy of http://wildwnc.org