Goat, it's what's for dinner

HENDERSONVILLE - Several farmers are starting to raise Boer goats to meet the rising demand for goat meat from the increasing number of immigrants moving into the area.

"The demand for goat meat is increasing as more Latinos and immigrants who are Muslim come into the area," said Carroll Parker, a retired agriculture teacher from Brevard High School. "There's a big, big market for goat meat in the Northeast and around certain holidays, such as Ramadan, Christmas and Easter. Goat meat at religious holidays and other celebrations is part of the family tradition."

Goat meat is the most popular meat in the world, Parker said, and is ideal for small land operators, especially in underdeveloped nations.

"When people from those countries immigrate, they begin looking for goat meat here," he said. "In the last five to 10 years, the market for goat meat has started picking up. We have the taste for beef and they have a taste for goats."

Goat meat is also healthier than beef, he said.

"Goat meat is leaner, has less cholesterol," Parker said.

Parker has just started raising Boer goats along with a few head of cattle. He has one 3-year-old billy goat, two nannies and three kids. Two of the kids are 2-week-old twins and one is about 5 weeks old.

"They really grow fast," he said as he carried the kids around in his arms.

Boer goats, which originate from South Africa, are bred for meat production, as opposed to other varieties which are bred for milk production, Parker said.

"Packing houses prefer Boer goats or goats with a high percentage of Boer," he said. "There is more meat on the bone."

A mature purebred Boer goat will cost about $150, he said. When farmers in North Carolina first began buying Boer goats, the cost was very high.

"The cost has gotten more reasonable," he said.

Parker's billy goat, Barney, weighs anywhere from 150 to 200 pounds. Goats sold for meat are younger and smaller goats, weighing from about 50 to 60 pounds.

A farmer can place cattle and goats together on the same pasture and get better use of the land, Parker said, especially on small farms. A small number of acres can then produce two areas of revenue.

"I've read for a long time that goats and cattle are compatible enterprises," he said.

Goats also help in pasture management. They eat weeds and other plants the cows will not eat, such as broadleaf, kudzu and brush.

"They love privet," Parker said. "They cleaned out a fence line for me that was covered in honeysuckle."

It takes stronger fencing to raise goats along with cattle, he said. "The fences have to be strong enough to keep the goats in and the predators out," Parker said.

Parker fenced in four of his seven acres. "It costs a lot of money to put this kind of fence up," he said. "Dogs and coyotes are our two big predators. They recommend the goat pen being fairly close to the house to help keep losses to a minimum."

Goats will defend themselves better than sheep, Parker said.

"They don't cluster and will spread out better," he said. "This makes it more difficult for a predator to kill all of them."

Some producers will keep guard animals in with the goats at night, Parker said. The most widely used guard animals are donkeys, llamas and Great Pyrenees dogs which are raised as puppies with the goats.

The number of farmers raising goats for meat is still fairly small, said Chris Talley, agriculture extension agent with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Henderson and Transylvania counties.

Other farmers in the area will "borrow" Parker's billy goat, Barney, to breed with their nannies and Parker will get some kids out of the deal.

"We hope between the two or three of us to pool our goats and have a truckload of goats to go to market at one time," he said.

The same intensive land production and pasture management can be accomplished with dairy goats as with meat goats, but Parker chose to raise goats for meat because they require less work than dairy goats.

"Raising dairy goats is a 24-seven job," he said. "I can find somebody to come and feed my goats when I'm gone, but I can't find somebody to come and milk them everyday."

There are three ways to market goats for meat.

The most widely used in this area is private sales to an individual, Parker said.

"Most sales here involve an individual buying a goat directly from a farmer, taking it home and slaughtering it themselves," Parker said. "If a person buys the goat for their own personal consumption, it doesn't have to be USDA inspected."

A farmer can also sell goats to a middleman, who will slaughter the goats and sell the meat or take the goats to another market. There are two USDA inspected slaughterhouses in eastern North Carolina, he said.

Farmers raising goats can also take them to area auction markets, Parker said. The largest goat market is in Holland, Pa. The Asheville auction market recently closed. Local farmers raising beef cattle and meat goats now must travel to South Carolina, Virginia or Georgia to auction markets.

 

my roommate's dad raised goats for this very purpose for many, many years. every summer, the vietnamese would buy up every one he had for some big holiday celebration.