Most of the goat meat eaten in the U.S. is by ethnic populations. But that bodes well for the industry’s future.
Dr. Jodie Pennington, small ruminant specialist with Lincoln University at the Newton County Extension Center in Neosho, Mo., told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor, “The Hispanic and Muslim populations are among the fastest growing in the U.S., and both eat a lot of goat meat. This means that there will be greater demand for fresh goat meat in the future. Presently, 17 percent of the U.S. population is Hispanic. The Hispanic population in the U.S. has grown rapidly, over 5-fold since 1970. By 2050, the Hispanic population is expected to be 30 percent of the U.S. population.”
Consumption spikes during these ethnic groups’ holidays. Muslim consumers will celebrate Ramadan, a month of daytime fasting that currently falls in early summer, with festival meals that can feature goat, and again during Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, in early fall. Hispanic groups will enjoy goat at Christmas and Easter, and those of Mexican heritage at Cinco de Mayo; it’s also sometimes the centerpiece of a feast at the Chinese New Year. Dr. David Fernandez, Cooperative Extension Program livestock specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, said producers will time kidding to coincide with the holidays. “A lot of producers are selling direct to the public, where people will advertise in the local paper,” Fernandez told OFN. “If there’s a local Spanish language paper, they’ll advertise in that.”
One of those direct sellers is Nancy Edgerly, whose Silver Hill Farm is south of St. Joe, Ark. “Traditionally, we have sold to a Muslim market,” she told OFN. “It is a Halal kill, which is kind of like Kosher; everything’s blessed, and the cleric is there while the line is working. The Muslim people want a carcass that’s between 40-60 pounds because they buy a whole carcass, cut it up into 2 inch pieces, bone-in, and that’s what they eat during the week… The Muslim market wants a young animal, and you can tell how young it is by the color of the meat. They’re looking more for ‘feel,’ I guess we’d call it.” She said consumers of Caribbean heritage, on the other hand, want an older animal because they want more flavor.
The annual USDA inventory reports indicate meat goat numbers have been declining every year and were at 2.275 million at the start of 2014, down 12 percent from 2008, the first year in the series. Slaughter last year was down 5 percent from 2012. “But the dairy goat market is up,” Edgerly reported. “I’m getting more calls from people who have small children or babies that are lactose-intolerant, and they’re looking for goat milk.”
The meat price is still high; at San Angelo, Texas, prime goat meat is over $2.00/lb, and the next grade is $1.86 and up. What kills the market for non-ethnic consumers is the slaughter cost, which is calculated per pound regardless of the size of the animal. Edgerly said, “If you’ve got a 60 pound goat, you’re going to lose 50 percent of the animal on the rail; if you pay $2.00/lb for that animal you’re up to 4 bucks, and if you pay another $1 or $2 for slaughter you’re up to $5.00-6.00 before you wrap it. So it’s difficult to sell meat to the consumer unless they’re going to slaughter it themselves, or they understand the quality of the meat.” It’s tough for her to field inquiries outside of the main demand season; meat goat producers want the kids to hit the ground in March and April, to take advantage of the forage. “As the market gets closer to December, January and February, the prices skyrocket,” she said. “So when a fellow called me early in the year, I had nothing to sell him.” The goal is to raise the animals up to 60-80 pounds so the higher weights can offset the fixed processing costs.
Edgerly has customers of Mexican descent in northern Arkansas who buy live animals and perform their own slaughtering. “The farther north and east you go, the more money you get for your product, and most of it is slaughtered in that area,” she said, adding she has a place on her own farm where people can slaughter the goats they buy, “but most people would prefer to have it wrapped.”
