Boer goat farming?

Question

My sister-in-law has a nice piece of land, about 15 acres, has been raising dairy goats and taking care of horses. She, my husband and I are thinking of raising meat goats (my hubby and I would be investors; she would do most of the farming). I'd like to hear from anyone who has raised Boer goats for meat, but want to know more about the business end of things, mainly: Questions:

Has the demand for goat meat risen of the past few years due to increased immigration (we live in the U.S.)?

What are any health benefits of goat meat? Why goat meat, actually? Is it just cheaper to raise or are there other benefits?

Pitfalls, things to watch out for?

Will demand increase, maybe to include more of mainstream population?

Thanks for any input.

Answer 1

there very few healthbenefits

Answer 2

I've been raising meat goats since 1999....successfully.  That word "successfully" is a VERY important word.

Most people who get into goat farming last only a few years.  most meat goat farmer have 39 goats or less.  If you have over 39 goats, you are concidered a LARGE goat operation.  I have over 100 goats.

I raise Boer crosses.  I also have a Myotonic buck (fainting goat).  Myotonics add a lot of muscle meat on the carcass for you.

I raise ONLY for the meat market.  I do NOT raise show goats in any way shape or form.  I do not even sell goats to 4H, and FFA children.

The demand for goat meat has not risen, nor decreased in the past years.  The demand for goat meat has always been extremely high here in the U.S.A.  Most of the goat meat consumed in the U.S. is imported from Australia.  For every goat you raise to market size, you will have 9 customers wanting to buy that goat.  It is the only agricultural product I know of that has a 900% market.

Goat meat has less fat that SKINLESS breast of chicken.  Goat meat has more iron than beef.  Just as goat milk is easy to digest, goat meat is also easy to digest.  

Goat meat is NOT cheaper to raise.  The fencing for goats is a very high cost (as you already know with dairy goats).

Pitfalls?  Far too numerous to list here, as Yahoo Q&A only gives limited space.  If you are really interested, I will refer to you an online yahoo group about commercial meat goats.

Commercial meat goats are extremely different from the fat show boer goats you see.

Since you already have dairy does, you would do well to ONLY add a Boer buck to the herd.  He should be from a twin birth, have excelent hooves, have grown well, and quickly on just his mothers milk, and pasture.  His dam should have raised him herself, and he should not be bottle raised.  He should be masculine, with good muscling, and of course "bucky" in behavior.

Demand for goat meat is already there.  Meat goat producers do not even come close to meeting demand.  If every single goat in the U.S.A. were slaughtered tommorrow, it would only meet about a months worth of demand.

"Mainstream Population" = white people.  White people are not interested in eating goats.  They view goats as dirty stinky animals, that eat garbage. What your average white American knows about goats is gleaned from Saterday morning cartoons, where the goats are always eating tin cans.  There is more than enough market for goats, without having to try and break into new territory.  By the way, for people who think I'm being racist, I'm not.  

I'm your average white American.  My husband and I are the ONLY white people my ethnic customers have ever know who actually eat goat.  They buy goats from white farmers all the time, who curl up their lip, and say, "Ewwww, gross," when the customers ask if they also eat the goats.  I don't know how you can raise something, and market it, if you are not also willing to eat it.

ALL of my business is "farmgate."  That means my customers come to my farm, and butcher the goats here on my farm.  You need to check your state laws, to see what is legal.  In some state, like North Carolina, you would face a $10,000 fine, and jail time, for each and every goat butchered on your property.

If you do a farmgate business (highly recommened) you will need to be understanding of other religions, and cultures.  You will need to know where  North, South, East & West are for some of the religions.  Most customers will want to slit the goats throat, according to their religious beliefs.

Do NOT sell your goats by weight.  Do do so legally in all 50 states, you must weigh your livestock on a scale certified yearly by the state, and your scale must have the sticker.  Every farmer I know who sells goats by weight is doing so illegally and faces some very hefty fines for breaking federal laws.

If you are interested in more information, email me, and I will sent you a link to a good yahoo commercial goat group.

You can email me with any questions you may have.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Raising commercial meat goats since 1999