March 4, 2010

Meat goats become more popular as cultures blend

DOSWELL—Many things in the United States have been influenced by other cultures, not least among them the foods Americans eat and produce.

While goat cheese and goat’s milk have been readily available for years, goat meat is now growing in popularity. Virginia meat goat producers are saying it’s time to take note of goat.

“This is probably the fastest-growing livestock sector in the state,” said Glenn Martin, a Caroline County meat goat producer. “I know this year we have sold about 250 head.”
Martin has raised cattle and pigs, but in the past few years he’s turned a small dairy goat operation into a successful meat goat business. And he isn’t alone.

Much of goat market growth comes from the diet preferences of immigrant populations. People coming from the Caribbean, Mexico, the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and Africa have a tradition of eating goat. Most go directly to the farmer to purchase it.

An estimated 741 million goats are raised worldwide to meet demand for their meat and milk. Almost 96 percent of the world’s goats are in developing countries, but Europeans like them too, with 15 million raised there.

There are an estimated 62,000 goats in Virginia. Of those, 57,500 are meat goats, according to the latest statistics from the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

“I have done very little advertising,” Martin said. “Most of my business is word of mouth.”

His customers usually buy two or three goats at a time and slaughter them off the farm. Demand for goat meat is high in the spring.

“If you sell them at the stockyard market, you can expect between $40 and $65,” Martin said. “By marketing them right here on the farm, with the culled nannies, I will get about $100 per goat. Being willing to deal directly with the clientele and market directly off the farm, I can take a real advantage of the market that way.”

Most of the meat goats raised in Virginia are the Boer breed, originally from South Africa, crossed with Nubians or Spanish Kiko, a feral goat.

Contact Martin at 804-539-3221 or Sherri McKinney, VFBF senior video producer, at 804-290-1148.