These Aren’t Your Fathers
Goats, A Look at the Past,
Present and Future of the
U.S. Meat Goat Industry
James “JJ” Jones
Area Ag Economist
Southeast District OSU Extension
Goat Industry before 1990
 Dairy
• Cheese
 Mohair
• Government
program cut from
farm bill
 Brush
Goat Industry after 1990’s
 Started importing
African meat goats in
mid 90’s
 Started with Boer goats
 Now are there are 3-5
distinct meat goat
breeds in the U.S.
 USDA started counting
meat goats in 2004
Why the increase?
 Goat meat is consumed by:
•
•
•
•
•
Muslims
Hispanic
Europeans
Asians
Africans
 Seems to be limited by supply
 Future demand?
Industry Overview
2006 Demand
Slaughtered (official)
Imported
Slaughtered (unofficial)
Mil. Lbs
20.4
24.5
3.5
48.4
2007 U.S. Meat Goat Numbers
> 1,000,000
100,000 1,000,000
75,000 100,000
50,000 75,000
3
7
30,000 50,000
10,000 30,000
5
8
2
4
1
9
< 10,000
Source: NASS
6
U.S. Total: 2,400,000
Southern Region Goat Numbers
Texas (1)
1,080,000
Tennessee (2)
103,000
Georgia (3)
95,000
Oklahoma (5)
Kentucky (7)
North Carolina (8)
Florida (9)
74,000
68,000
60,000
55,000
South Carolina (10)
Alabama (11)
Virginia (12)
Arkansas (14)
Mississippi (18)
44,000
43,000
41,000
29,000
24,000
Louisiana (27)
Total
12,800
1,728,800 or 72% of the U.S. goats
76.5% of U.S. Total
2005 U.S. Inspected Slaughter
U.S. Total: 566,208 head
7. Illinois
25,660
4.5%
8. Indiana
22,899
4%
3. Pennsylvania 4. New York
37,041
33,459
6.6%
5.9%
1. New Jersey
209,156
37%
9. California
22,214
3.9%
6. DE/MD
25,682
4.5%
2. Texas
38,079
6.7%
5. Tennessee
29,692
5.2%
10. Florida
15,610
2.7%
Types of Goat Operations
1. Brush Control
• Used as weed eaters
• Profit is not the motive
3. Purebred or Seed
Stock
•
•
•
•
Higher start up costs
Build a reputation
Breed association
Registration of animals
2. Multi-Species Grazing
• Compliments other
livestock enterprise
• Profit can be a motive
4. Commercial Goat
Operation
• Produce kids for meat
production
• Manage for profit
maximization
Holiday Demand
Holiday
Date
Type of goat
Easter (Western)
April 8, 2007
March 23, 2008
April 12, 2009
20 to 50 pounds
Easter (Eastern and
Greek)
April 8, 2007
April 27, 2008
April 19, 2009
20 to 50 pounds
Independence Day
July 4
20 to 35 pounds
Caribbean holidays
August
60 pound bucks
Holiday Demand
Holiday
Date
Type of goat
Start of Ramadan
(Muslim)
September 13, 2007
September 8, 2008
August 22, 2009
45 to 120 pounds less
than 12 months
Eid al Fitr (Muslim)
October 13, 2007
October 2, 2008
September 21, 2009
45 to 120 pounds 60
pounds optimum
Eid al Adha (Muslim)
December 20, 2007
December 8, 2008
November 28, 2009
Yearlings, blemish free
Dassai (Hindu)
October 12, 2007
September 30, 2008
Male goats only, size
depends upon number
being fed
Why are goats popular?
 Perfect for a small producer with limited:
• Land
• Capital (although can be higher than first thought)
• Equipment
 Can be profitable
• OSU budget shows a return of $35/head
 Show goats
• Around 1800 kids with goat projects
Goat Industry Challenges
 Production diversity and multiple products
 Demand diversity
 Demand future
• Will future generations continue to eat goat?
 Geographic dispersion of production and
consumption
 Seasonality of supply and demand
 Fragmented and limited market infrastructure
 Lack of market information
 Lack of research on goat production
What about the future?
 Goat numbers continue to increase.
• Theoretically could increase goat herd by 500,000.
• Show goat projects continue to increase.
 Currently have not reached saturation point.
 It is not the ostrich market all over again.
 It is not your dad’s goat farm.
 As long as there is a demand for the final
product there will be a viable market.
Questions?