Proceedings Of The National Symposium On Goat Meat Production And Marketing

Strategies for expanding meat goat production are reviewed. The basis for future expansion must include producing goats in sustainable biological and economic systems. This must include identification of land resources appropriate for goat production, production systems that optimize production efficiency, and available market outlets. The major constraint in non-traditional production areas appears to be market outlets for live goats and efficient methods of slaughter, processing and transporting goat meat to consumer market. Consumer demand does not appear to be a constraint to future expansion. Many of the problems must be approached on an organized industry basis, and the industry is encouraged to organize to meat the challenges of the future. Historically, meat goats have been used to control undesirable weeds and shrubs, and this may become an increasingly important role for goats in the future. It is also recognized that most goat meat comes from goats kept for other production purpose, such as mohair and dairy production.