YODEL it across the mountains - well, at least across the Malvern Hills and Worcestershire - goat's milk is the new tapas. Once considered seriously old fashioned and an acquired taste, today it's so trendy it has become one of Britain's fastest growing dairy products.

Until the 1970s, demand for goat's milk was so small it barely registered as part of general milk sales and, even after then, it was only stocked by some health shops.

But now Tesco goat milk buyer Jessica Litman claims: "It's official - the goat has become the trendiest animal in the farmyard."

Retail analysts TNS says the goat milk industry is now worth £25 million a year and, in the last year, demand has grown by 11 per cent.

Which is good news for people like George Johnson, from Hindlip, president of Worcestershire Goat Society.

"This could give us a real boost," he said. "Our membership is now almost down to single figures having been more than 100 about 20 years ago.

"Young people these days seem to prefer their computers to mucking out goats and, of course, the old hands among us aren't getting any younger.

"It's a shame, because goat's milk is really nutritious and it's good to see this being recognised at last."

Commercially kept goats are usually milked twice a day, but according to George, a family kept animal would only need to be milked once daily.

"You need to milk them regularly to maintain the animal's milk production," he explained. "If you don't, it dries up. But once a day would be enough for the average goat kept at home."

There are various breeds kept in Britain, but the Jersey cow' of the goat world is the Anglo Nubian, which has particularly rich milk.

Goats are herd animals and need company, so you would need to keep a pair at least.

"Ideally I'd recommend buying them about 12 months old," George said. "That way they would be just past the kid stage and you would have a year to get used to them before they began producing milk.

"You don't need a lot of land, because they don't rely on grazing from the grass. They must be fed a supplementary feed and they need hay. You also need a suitable shelter because they don't take kindly to wind and rain. They should have good straw beds too."

The goat's milk boom is down to improved farming methods and more people switching on to goat milk's many health benefits, such as improving digestion as well as reportedly helping reduce catarrh, eczema and asthma.

Goat's milk is also of particular benefit to people suffering from lactose intolerance. While both cow's and goat's milk contain lactose, the different proteins found in the latter make it easier to digest.

Where once shoppers would have been lucky to find any goat's milk in their local supermarket nowadays there are an ever increasing number of products, with Tesco introducing the UK's first chocolate-flavoured variety.

"It's an amazing turnaround," said Jessica Litman. "Even until six or seven years ago, the average shopper would have turned their nose up at goat's milk without even trying it, mainly because of its old fashioned image.

"But over the last few years more and more Brits are falling head over heels in love with goat's milk.

"The change has come about because of health reasons and also because UK goat farming methods have improved which has led to better quality milk. It is this richer, cleaner and more lemony taste that is now winning over the public.

"Until the start of the decade you would have had to specially seek out a retailer selling goat's milk, but it is now so popular that we now have the first ever flavoured variety.

"We currently stock five different goat's milk varieties, including regular and semi-skimmed, but because of the demand we are already looking at bringing in more types and flavours."

No wonder those kids in the Sound of Music looked so healthy.